New Paths
by thesedreamsgoon
Summary: Klaus wonders if it was a moment of temporary insanity that lead him to believe moving to NOLA would result in him seeing less of the Mystic Falls gang as opposed to more? Set after Season 4. Despite having left Mystic Falls, the Original Family find themselves forging new allegiances and new relationships with old acquaintances. Klaroline. Kalijah. Delena
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note- This story takes place after season 4 with the main focus on the Original family and their interactions with the Mystic Falls gang in and around the events of New Orleans.  
Klaroline- Such great chemistry  
Kalijah- I love the potential these two characters have. Despite everything Elijah hasn't been as deeply explored as his siblings, particularly with regards to his love life.  
Delena- In keeping with the show.  
Tyler will be coming into play but he's hardly going to forgive and forget for the chance to start a new life.  
Disclaimer- I own nothing.

* * *

Power struggles were something the Original vampires were all too familiar with.

It was a common misconception that being vampires was what made the Mikaelson family so ruthless, in truth the Mikaelson method of brutality wasn't founded in their immortality or blood thirst but in their heritage. Mikael and Esther had been Vikings and they had raised their children accordingly and in the Old World power and hierarchy had been quite logical.

Power was gained by strength; strength was gained by fighting in raids or fighting within the tribe. Those that could no longer fight either had the sense to die of old age or were killed; those that were deposed were killed. There was no place in the world for mercy, it was misunderstood and fooled the weaker men into thinking  
you vulnerable.

Niklaus and Elijah still lived by that code, not because they wanted too but because they had never had time or reason to contemplate another way. Mikael had chased them around the world for centuries, never allowing them the chance to make a home or to find peace and afterwards there had been the hybrid uprising, Silas and then the New Orleans witches.

Niklaus had followed the witches every order to the letter, he'd ingratiated himself in Marcel's inner circle he'd been the perfect friend he'd thrown parties he'd invested heavily in the French Quarter and been an ally that Marcel's family could depend on when they needed him.

Hayley had spent her first trimester imprisoned in a tiny shack deep in the Bayou, confined to three rooms and utterly dependent on the witches for food and water. During her second trimester Klaus had earned enough goodwill with his compliant behaviour that she had been moved to suburbia where she had access to over the counter medicine and Klaus could sneak away to visit and ensure his child was safe.

In her third trimester, Marcel had grown paranoid about how quiet the witches had become since Klaus came to the Quarter and six months of suspicion culminated in his capturing and torturing Sophie until she confessed everything.

On Bourbon Street he'd begun slaughtering those Klaus had appeared closest to, those he'd befriended and even some of Marcel's strongest allies lost their lives that day. The nightwalkers quickly scattered as he made his way out of the city, deciding that if the witches could hold the life of Niklaus' unborn child over his head as a means of forcing obedience then so could he.

In the end Marcel didn't die by Niklaus' hand.

* * *

Niklaus Mikaelson was quick to anger and impulsive when he became so. In the heat of the moment he would make decisions that he would regret once his temper cooled, although he was too proud to ever admit that fact.

Elijah by comparison was quite calm and always deliberated before making choices. Even in the midst of turmoil he made sure to act as rationally as he possibly could and as such rarely felt regret afterwards.

However Niklaus wasn't the Original brother famed for his brutality. When Klaus killed he did so quickly and usually cleanly, Elijah tended to make a mess. He would decapitate with his bare hands, disembowel or really any use method of death that could be achieved without weaponry. It was chilling to watch how he would straighten his cuffs or readjust his jacket after ripping a man's spinal column from his body; his pristine suits were psychological compensation for his blood drenched hands.

It was safe to say that neither of the Mikaelson brothers considered mercy a viable policy for dealing with their enemies. However to call Elijah heartless would be unjust, he loved his little brother and his little sister with all his heart and certainly beyond reasoning. The night that Sophie had broken the news of Hayley's pregnancy Elijah had seen the fear in Niklaus' eyes, the fear, the confusion and the beginnings of hope. He offered the witches Marcel's head on a stake, he would have offered them the head of every vampire in New Orleans if it meant Hayley's freedom.

This child was a chance for the Mikaelson's to be a family again.

However the witches weren't as accommodating as Elijah might have wished. They had the opportunity of a lifetime and they were going to get their monies worth out of the Original Hybrid.

And they were going to exploit that tiny foetus with its rapid heartbeat to do so.

So Elijah kissed Katerina and his chance for love goodbye, packed his belongings and returned to New Orleans, to the two storey mansion he bought for him and his brother above the restaurant on Conti Street and for the next six months he rarely left his brother's side.

He threw parties with him; he argued with him over carousing in bars at noon, he made a point of being disgusted by the clubs that Niklaus dragged him to with Marcel. He insisted on having decent dinners and attending refined events although Marcel and his family were clearly uncomfortable attending, he suggested art shows and charities and made a show of being pleasantly surprised when he collected his own inner circle of vampires who enjoyed the better things in life and were disenchanted with Marcel's method of ruling.

When Marcel's paranoia had these vampires coming to him concerned Elijah shrugged his shoulders and assured them that he would protect them if the need arose. They hid in his spare apartment the night that the self-titled King of New Orleans committed fratricide in the middle of Bourbon Street and Elijah left them there while he drove through the night to the tiny suburb where Hayley and his brother's unborn child were left vulnerable.

But he got there too late.

In the end Marcel didn't die by Elijah's hand.

* * *

Katerina Petrova had been born into a country occupied. The Ottoman Empire had invaded her homeland and forced her family from their country manor into the village where she had been born, she had been raised with the constant fear of attack and she was only a peasant and only a girl but she had known damn well how to handle a blade.  
A young woman as beautiful as her didn't keep her virginity past the age of ten if she didn't learn how to hide a dagger in her skirts and to jam it into a man's side before he had the chance to ruin her.

Five hundred years later she was just as ruthless and just as determined to survive, although she had picked up quite a few new tricks along the way. She'd discovered that one didn't have to survive alone and that for the right price she could set up a spy network throughout the Americas that kept her aware of any useful information, dangers or Originals headed her way.

So even when she surrendered the cure to Elijah she had a backup plan for winning her freedom from his little brother. If a witch in New Orleans wanted to try and kill Klaus she was more than welcome to step up to the plate, Katherine had no doubt she would fail miserably but if it took the heat off her for a little while then she was more than happy to fill the Hybrid in on the details.

What she hadn't accounted for was the baby.

Not that she was too blame of course, nobody would have predicted Klaus getting a woman pregnant and even if they had surely they would have set their sights on perky irritating Caroline Forbes, the Hybrids current obsession, as opposed to his one night stand?

But a baby meant family. Family meant that she lost Elijah to a glorified foetus and if Klaus didn't have to endure eternity alone and if the Salvatore brothers were going to continue worshipping at Elena Gilbert's altar whilst she, now cured and mortal withered away, then she was going to wreak havoc and see where it got her.

Five hundred years of being Klaus' enemy opened a surprising amount of doors for her. The witches were hesitant at first but she managed to get Hayley's location and the end-game from them. Marcel wouldn't meet her for three months and by the time he did all she managed to do was confirm his suspicions about Klaus.

She then leaves him to slaughter and purge his city of his perceived betrayers while she locates Hayley and the witches who've survived Marcel and are dithering about like headless chickens. When she arrived the werewolf is sitting abandoned in an empty bathtub already going into labour while Marcel threatens to set the house alight.

When he realises Katherine is there he threatens to send her back to Elijah ruined beyond repair.

For old times' sake Katherine cuts his heart out his chest with a dagger and leaves his corpse for whichever Original makes it to Hayley's side first.

Marcel may have been the King of New Orleans but in the end he was a great a fool as most men and the one hundred year old vampire died at the hands of a Bulgarian peasant.

A human one at that.

* * *

A/N- Review please. If anyone wants to BETA my stories please let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- Klaus' actions have always been fuelled by his desire not to be alone. He daggered his siblings so that they couldn't leave him and he created hybrids so that he wouldn't be the only member of his species. At the end of the day he's a man trying to overcome the hurt child who was abused by his father and emotionally abandoned by his mother.

* * *

When Klaus finds Hayley she is crouched in an empty bathtub panting as contractions rock her body, she looks to him desperately as he kneels beside her soaked and sweating form.

"It's coming" she tells him needlessly as he gathers her up into his arms and carries her out of the house as Elijah's car pulls up to the curb,

"Don't get out" he orders his big brother as he approaches, Elijah ignores him and flashes around to open the passenger door as Klaus lowers her into the backseat. He murmurs something calming to the werewolf as she pulls the seatbelt across her large belly; Klaus looks back to the front yard where Marcel's body lies with a knife through his chest.

All too often younger vampires seem to forget that damage to the heart, whether from a stake or the organ being removed entirely can kill them.

Klaus feels a moment of loss for Marcel, when all things were said and done he'd been proud of the vampire he'd sired, the one who'd created a society for the supernatural in the French Quarter. But Fate just hadn't been in Marcel's favour. Klaus wanted power and the witches had held his unborn child hostage in return for the act of regicide.

"We'll need to take care of that" Elijah notes as they both climb into the car, Klaus nods absent-mindedly and turns in the seat to look at Hayley,

"Are you in much pain?" he asks as the car starts moving, she's pale and wide-eyed but shakes her head,

"All those years of turning into a wolf every full moon" she chuckles, "Always wondered if they'd be good for something"

Elijah laughs gently, more for her benefit than from actual amusement, Klaus meets his brother's eyes, "Take us to Ochsner Medical Centre" he tells him, showing him the address on his phone. His big brother furrows his brow, "Are you certain? Hayley certainly needs medical attention but the child...we can't be sure it will resemble a normal human being"

"I compelled the entire maternity ward there when the witches told me to expect a home birth" he informs them both, "I have no idea what to expect tonight but none of the humans on the ward will remember it and worst case scenario we can summon a witch"

Hayley grunts in pain and Klaus offers her his hand to squeeze, he doesn't feel anything beyond distant friendship to her but she is baring his child and for the last seven months has been kept in less than ideal conditions. The witches refused to take her to the hospital for check-ups or ultrasound relying instead on magic to ensure the baby was healthy. Neither she nor Klaus even knew the sex of their child and the only maternity possessions she received were supplied by himself, not that he begrudged the cost he even bought her favourite ice-cream when she mentioned one afternoon that she was craving it.

* * *

Being a vampire, the only time Niklaus visits hospitals is when he wants blood bags and those occasions are very few and far between. He had no idea what the current state of the health care system was but he assumed like most other things in life, the more money one offered the better the service. Therefore he'd compelled the staff on the maternity ward to think they were being paid very well tonight when Hayley was wheeled into the most well equipped room they had in the building.

It isn't until Hayley is changed into a hospital gown and lying back on the bed that Niklaus and Elijah realise they have no idea what to do next. Niklaus has some fuzzy memories of having to wait outside with his father and brothers while his mother birthed Kol and then Rebekkah. Of course that was millennia ago and the etiquette has probably changed by then, he looks to his eldest brother who swallows and turns to Hayley,

"Would you like us to stay?" he inquires politely as a nurse and the head gynaecologist come into the room and start checking her vitals, she fidgets nervously as they inject her and when they check her dilation she cries out in shock,

"Buy me a drink first" she snaps as the doctor's head re-emerges, "You're almost ready"

Klaus finds himself standing beside her before he even realises he's moved and he offers his hand again, she smiles bravely at him and settles back on the pillows.

"I'm really glad we made it to a hospital" she tells him and he hums in agreement,

"Much more preferable to a salt circle in the middle of the Bayou surrounded by chanting witches" he concurs and she nods, gripping his fingers as another contraction passes through her,

"Don't go anywhere" she warns him, "I think this is going to be quick"

She was right.

* * *

Klaus wasn't by any means a judge of short labours but an hour later he heard the wail of his child entering the world. He was dimly aware that the nurse was congratulating or cursing them, he wasn't particularly sure his entire attention was focused on that small body held in the doctor's arms. They had already brought in the equipment to wash the baby and it was quickly wrapped in a blanket and placed in Hayley's outstretched arms. He helped her unwrap the blanket so they could run a preliminary check for any supernatural signs, ten fingers and ten toes, a replica of Hayley's birthmark on his right shoulder. Klaus took an edge of the blanket between his fingers and noticed the colour.

Blue.

Blue meant male.

"He's a boy" Hayley pointed out, weeping as she cradled the exhausted baby to her chest,  
"He's beautiful" Klaus noted running his hand over the dark brown tuft on his head, his little face settled into a frown and Klaus snatched his hand back, worried he'd hurt him. The baby turned his head minutely and opened one eye to peer at him.  
"He has your eyes" he told her, she smiled and kissed his head before glancing shyly at him,  
"Do you want to hold him?" she offered and he frowned unintentionally revealing the resemblance between him and the baby. Carefully he held out his arms and Hayley slowly shifted the newborn into them, he was so small that Klaus easily cradled his head in the crook of his arm while studying every inch of him. The nurse came and took Hayley for her bath and when Klaus refused to let them take the baby away they moved the tiny bed into the room for him.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" she asked as she was filling out the details.  
The only decision that Klaus and Hayley had made in that area was to eliminate the names of their every acquaintance from the running.

The baby squirmed in his arms and Klaus clutched him tighter worried he would drop him, he exhaled and it seemed an eternity before he inhaled again. He sighed and tried to mimic Hayley as he bent his head and kissed the child gently on the brow. He opened an eye again and reached up with his tiny little hand brushing it against Klaus' chin,  
"Hello" he whispered, as some long lost part of his psyche start to re-emerge. "I'm you father"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- Caroline is making her way into the story as fast as she can, I'm going to be intersecting this story with another one called New Lives which will be written in first person and explains Caroline's life while I'm setting up Klaus and Hayley in New Orleans. Let me reiterate there is no Klayley but they have a child together so they are going to be warm platonic acquaintances.

* * *

When Klaus had decided to stay for the birth Elijah had felt it appropriate to wait outside in the hallway. A nurse had suggested he go to the waiting area but he'd quickly shot down that idea choosing instead to remain as physically close to his brother as possible.

He knew there were many tasks he should be seeing to at that moment but the very thought of leaving the hospital was distasteful to him.

He remembered with vivid clarity how terrified Niklaus had been when he'd first heard the child's heartbeat, his brother could easily become frightened again and an emotional Klaus was a very dangerous one.

After half an hour whilst he was still waiting and nothing appeared to be happening very quickly, he noticed an elderly couple walk past holding balloons with congratulatory expressions written in garishly bright colours.

That's right, he remembered when James VI of Scotland had been born, there had been a large celebration and people had sent Queen Mary gifts. He should get his impending niece or nephew something.

He wandered through the large hospital until he found the gift shop; he walked straight past the tacky balloons and the cheap silverware to the plush toy section.

"Can I help you sir?" He turned to see a polite young woman standing beside him, he decided that it would be in poor taste to feed from her and smiled,

"Yes, I am about to become an uncle for the first time and I'm not quite sure what to buy..." He trailed off realising that he was unsure of what to call the child, Klaus and Hayley hadn't known the sex and had always seemed to refer to it rather impersonally, calling it 'child' or 'it'.

In their small supernatural world where the continued existence of the child had constantly been in a state of flux, it had been all so sensible but now, in the outer world it felt callous.

"Don't know the sex?" she guessed with a knowing smile and he shook his head,

"I'm afraid not"

"Well we have plenty of unisex toys"

He settled on a brown teddy bear with stitched on blue eyes which the assistant described as perfect because there wasn't anything on it the baby could swallow. He checked his phone as it beeped and realised he had several missed messages from the nightwalkers regarding rumours of Marcel having gone on a killing spree. He sighed and tapped off a few responses telling them to hide until tomorrow night, that he and Klaus would protect them. He remembered that Marcel's body was still lying on the front lawn and wondered if it had been reported to the police. He should probably go back and take the daylight ring off, let the vampire burn when the sun rose.

He was unable to leave at that very moment however because as he returned to the hallway he saw Hayley being moved by nurses, concern ran through him and he hastened to her side,

"Is everything alright?" he asked her quickly, grabbing the railing of her bed and forcing the nurses to stop, Hayley gave him a weary but heartfelt smile,

"He's a boy" she told him, patting his hand as the nurses resumed moving her down the hall. Elijah stood frozen, still in a way that a human never could be, staring at the far end of the hall where Hayley had long since disappeared from sight.

* * *

He's a boy.

He existed. He lived. He breathed and moved.

He's a boy.

Even hearing the heartbeat had never seemed to make the child as real as he was now.

He's a boy.

Niklaus.

Elijah swept into the room and stopped before his brother, staring down at the tiny babe in his arms,

"Big brother" he murmured looking up at him with stunned eyes,

"I have a son"

For the first time in millennia, for the first time since they became vampires Elijah found himself looking at his little brother. At Nik, the man who'd been immature and reckless but so loving and happy despite all the pain he'd suffered at their father's hands. Fearful for his dignity, he clears his throat.

"So I heard" he responds, bending over to get a closer look at the warm bundle of flesh,

"Congratulations little brother"

"I'm a father"

Elijah smiles and claps his hand on his shoulder, "To a handsome boy"

"I don't know what to do next"

Elijah tries to hide his discomfort at those words; this was the reaction he had been expecting and dreading in equal measure. When Niklaus was hurt or frightened he lashed out and this was a deeply emotional moment for all involved.

"Just breathe and listen to his heartbeat" he told him soothingly as the baby whimpered and snuggled closer to his father. But Nik smirked and shook his head,

"I didn't mean it like that" he assures him, "I meant I don't know how to look after a child. I've been trying to remember what I did with Rebekkah and Kol but all I can recall is that I carried them around by their stomachs and dropped them on their heads frequently"

"You also lost them on a daily basis" Elijah interjects amused, "Finn and I had to keep an eye on you because whenever you got tired carrying them you would put them down anywhere. The whole village got used to finding the Mikaelson babies in the middle of the paths or the woods, once you left Bekah in the pigsty and she tried suckling one of the sows"

"Exactly" Nik shifts the baby so he's against his shoulder and stands, beginning to pace nervously,

"I don't know what happens next big brother. We don't have anything at the house for him or Hayley, we don't even have those chain restraints you need in the cars and Marcel will have to be dealt with...along with any lingering enemies"

Elijah moves into his path and cups his brother's face in his hands feeling his heart swell with love for his sibling, "You and Hayley stay here tonight; I'll deal with the supernatural side of things and come for you once we have a nursery ready for the baby"

Nik nods and strokes his son's back absently, "You'll need assistance"

Elijah laughs, "I can take care of a few newborn vampires brother and the rest..." he shrugs, "Compulsion, compulsion, compulsion"

"Katerina was the one who murdered Marcel" Nik reveals, leaning against the windowsill. Elijah's heart is in his throat but he nods, he'd smelt her faint scent in the yard and Marcel's murderer would have had to have been a much older vampire than he, of which there weren't many in New Orleans the self-titled king having been wary of creatures more powerful than himself.

"I believe that is so" he concurs, tugging at his cuff as he notices a loose thread, the shirt will have to be disposed of, perhaps the entire suit.

"The next time you see her, tell her she is welcome in New Orleans...providing of course she comes alone"

For the second time that night Elijah finds himself incapable of moving and shocked to his core, he is staring at his little brother but his nephew is squirming in his arms and occupying his father's attention. Remembering himself, he smiles and sees himself out.

As he strides across the dreary hospital parking lot for the first time in many a century he finds himself praying to his gods, promising the father of fathers a great many deaths in return for his nephew's safety.

* * *

A/N- Tell me what you think


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- For those of you whom, despite my reassurances, still don't believe this to be a Klaroline story, when I bring out chapter six of this story I'll paste a link to the story I mentioned would be running concurrently with this one.  
Also- Hayley's pregnancy has magically been fit into one Mystic Falls summer. This will be explained at a later date.

* * *

When Hayley is returned to her room with stitches in her vagina and breasts aching Klaus is still holding their son, whispering to him as the baby frets. The nurse explains that he's probably hungry and shows her how to feed him, he latches onto her breast easily and she falls asleep with him suckling.

She wakes up halfway through the night in a panic, certain that she's accidentally overfed him or smothered him or dropped him. She pulls herself up, ignoring the pain and looks about frantically, her rapid breathing stirs Klaus who is standing over the tiny plastic bed, he gestures to it silently and she can see the babies tiny foot twitching in his sleep.

The next time she wakes up its morning and a nurse is holding a scalpel above her son.

"Klaus" Hayley calls sitting up and startling the nurse, she feels her inner wolf growling and gnashing its teeth at the perceived threat to its cub.

"Here sweetheart" he whispers softly and she turns to him. He's sitting beside her bed, his lips pressed tightly together as he watches the nurses every breath, he's tenser than she is and she's still panicking but slightly less concerned.

"She's taking a blood sample" he explains as their son cries out and Hayley scowls as the nurse hands her crying child over, she dabs at the blood and kisses his cheek. She opens her mouth to make a snide remark to Klaus only to find that he's moved to the opposite side of the room and he's far too still. In fact she would bet that he's stopped breathing entirely.

"Are you okay?" she asks and he nods tersely but his hands are clenching into fists,

"Does he heal?" he asks and she pulls her hand away from his little heel to find no trace of the incision, "Apparently"

Klaus audibly exhales and something inside Hayley clicks, "When was the last time you ate?"

He shakes his head, "I've been eating the nurses...I just...I didn't want to smell his blood just in case..."

"You vamped out" she surmised, "You don't want to be hungry for your own son's blood"

His smile is laced with pain, "He'll have plenty of reasons to hate me, no need to provide extra ones"

Hayley smirks and decides to leave that conversation for a later date.

"Well _he_ needs a name" she points out and he returns to her bedside successfully distracted.

"I assume you'll want to hyphenate his last name?" he responds, catching their son's hand as it stretches out and offering him his smallest finger to squeeze.

Despite the fact that they've spent the last nine months bonded together by fear and need, Hayley is surprised that Klaus hasn't immediately written her out of the decision making processes regarding their child. Alpha males usually weren't so accommodating which was why Hayley had never found a pack to run with for longer than a few months.

She smiles, "I do but maybe later, once I've met my parents and know for sure that it's my family name otherwise...I keep looking at him and still can't figure out what the hell to call him"

He returns her smile, "Well seeing as you're adopted and I loathed forty-eight percent of my family he won't be inheriting any names..."

"And we've already eliminated most of the people we know...we could name him Elijah?" she suggested half-heartedly but he frowns, "He doesn't look like an Elijah"

* * *

By mid-afternoon Hayley is forcing herself to eat the hospital lunch while Klaus lists every name he can think of.

"Odin"

Hayley rolls her eyes; he's just finished listing every Knight of the Round Table and appears to have jumped across the pond to Scandinavia. "No"

"Thor...Loki...Vali...Baldr...Fitch...Kvasir...Mag ni" he rambles off wandering around the room, clearly bored.

"Are we having an introductory religion class?"

They look to the doorway where Elijah stands with his hands in his pockets, surveying the scene before him. He steps aside as a nurse comes into the room to check his nephew's vitals.

"Trying to pick a name" Hayley explains, shifting in her bed to get a closer look at her son. Elijah crosses the room and picks the newborn up cradling him in his arms,

"He's quite beautiful" he muses, beaming as the baby reaches up and grabs a tiny fistful of his jacket.

"Will he be raised in our traditions?" he asks looking between the two of them, Hayley shrugs.

"I'm an atheist, what the hell are you two?"

Klaus smirks, "Vikings, worshippers of Odin, fearful of mischievous elves, attendants at Uppsala"

She raises her eyebrows, "Seriously?!" she drawls, "You want our son to be a pagan?"

"We've kept our traditions and religion alive for centuries, long before the Christ-god made his way through Europe, our gods provided strength and comfort, morals and rules to abide by" Elijah explains coldly looking to Klaus with wordless accusation. Klaus doesn't even have the grace to hide his amusement,

"My big brother has long since been the defender of our faith" he jokes, clapping him on the shoulder as he meanders past, "The only reason Uppsala can still happen is because of the lengths he went to in tracking down and preserving our priests"

"And this child can now attend" Elijah argues, "He can be taught our ways, our mother tongue..."

Hayley tunes them both out as they bicker, one thing she's realised about the brothers is that when they start arguing and don't have distractions like hybrid massacres or attempted fratricide to prioritise they can go on for hours, usually only stopping on request. Figuring she'll voice her opinion when she's given more information about their religion, what it entails and whether or not Klaus decides to agree with his brother she quietly turns on the television flipping through the channels.

Elijah's voice rises and falls as he walks about the room, expertly shifting his nephew when he wakes so that he's propped against his shoulder and bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. When her son makes a small whimpering noise he gently drops him into her arms, silent as Klaus begins his rebuttal. Hayley is feeding their son when she hears him mention a name and starts,

"What did you say?"

Klaus blinks, unaware that she was listening; "I was talking about a king Elijah and I once knew, Erik"

She looks down at her baby running her thumb across his brow to trick him into opening his eyes, he lifts an eyelid and fixes her with a disinterested glance before going back to feeding. She tries the name on her son, whispering it and he blinks his eye open again, staring at her with his brown little orb.

"Erik Mikaelson?" she suggests, looking up at both brothers.  
They smile, "It suits him"

* * *

"Most of Marcel's followers have fled New Orleans" Elijah tells Niklaus as he walks him from the hospital, "They haven't gone far, I assume they'll come back once they know there aren't going to be any violent starts to this regime change"

His little brother sniffs, "Not for the vampires anyway"

"The witches have gone to ground, with the Deveraux women dead the rest of them are too scared to ask about Marcel's spell detecting object"

"I assume that's locked up tight in our house?" Niklaus questions as they approach Elijah's car, he unlocks it and looks across the roof to his brother,

"Entirely unreachable to anyone who isn't us. The nursery is ready, a nurse will bring some clean clothes for Hayley later and one of the chefs from the restaurant downstairs is cooking dinner for you both tonight"

His little brother nodded but placed his hands on the roof of the car, signalling that the conversation wasn't over,

"Katerina Petrova?" he asked and Elijah felt his left eye twitch ever so slightly,

"Was apparently human when she killed Marcel. Elena Gilbert rang this morning, it appears Katerina attempted to kill her shortly after graduation and received a throat full of the cure for her efforts"

Niklaus raised his eyebrows in surprise. After all they'd gone through, all the fighting, the thefts, the death threats and the cure had ended up in the blood stream of someone who'd dreaded it almost as much as he himself had. "That must complicate matters for her then"

Elijah shrugged, feigning nonchalance, "I highly doubt it shall, she's kept herself alive for five hundred years, she can keep herself alive for another few months"

"I did mean what I said last night brother" Niklaus promised, "Especially now that she's vulnerable"

Elijah laughed coldly and opened the door, climbing inside, "Katerina has been many things little brother" he murmured as he started the engine, knowing his brother could hear him,

"But very rarely has she been vulnerable"

* * *

"Elijah has the nursery ready so we can go home" Klaus announced as he came back into the room, "Oh and I'm not entirely sure you'll care but the cure's gone"

"The cure?" Hayley remembered vaguely there had been some vampire cure that Tyler's friends had all wanted. "Did it work?"

"Elena Gilbert shoved it down the throat of Katherine Pierce and turned her human, so I would say it did" he frowned and held out some new clothes for her,

"Elijah might want to make a trip to Mystic Falls and carry her back here kicking and screaming, I don't think the house is big enough"

Hayley slid from the bed and moved to the bathroom, patting Erik's hand as she passed the cot,

"Does that mean you'll kick me out to make room for her?" she smirks as she climbs into the shower, she knows without looking through the closed door that he's smiling too,

"Not unless she plans on giving me twins sweetheart"

She laughs and enjoys the warm spray, rubbing the soap over her body, ignoring the tenderness that still resided between her legs, Klaus had given her the tiniest sip of his blood so the stitches and tears were gone, along with the stretchmarks. Their relationship had become friendlier now that they had a child together but Hayley knew that his casual use of endearments wasn't a declaration of love towards her. He'd used such endearments before; it was part of his speech patterns, Hayley had heard him speak to his sister the same way.

Besides, she'd been the proverbial shoulder Tyler had cried on whenever he had a reason to worry about the chemistry between Klaus and Caroline. He had come to her for that purpose a lot of times and she had seen the two blonde vampires at the beauty pageant, personally she would have told Tyler to dump Caroline and move on if he hadn't needed the Mystic Falls supernatural support system to fall back on. She didn't know where her friend was now but she knew for a fact that Klaus and Caroline texted frequently, although she was pretty sure the irritating cheerleader had been kept in the dark regarding Hayley's sudden life change.

They ignore hospital regulations and walk out to the car park where Elijah had Klaus' car dropped off, a compelled nurse straps Erik in and Hayley climbs into the front passenger seat looking back at her newborn son. She turns to face Klaus as he starts the car,

"We don't have a clue what we're doing" she points out as he pulls out of the parking lot, he smirks in agreement.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- This is one of the first chapters in my story New Lives. When the stories interlace, the chapters are written in first person

* * *

Elijah's POV

News from Mystic Falls had been scarce over the summer. With Silas gone, Rebekah somewhere in Europe and Niklaus too caught up with our issues in New Orleans to do more than write quick postcards to Miss Forbes, the town had been relatively trouble free.

Despite this, Elena Gilbert had been so kind as to continue our warm acquaintance; she rang me once a fortnight and we discussed our lives. She and Damon were enjoying their relationship doing all the things that couples in the twenty-first century supposedly do.  
I am by no means an expert in this area but Rebekah tells me that it means they dine at restaurants, watch films together and mark anniversaries. Bonnie is spending the summer out of town with her mother but Jeremy Gilbert is alive and quite well. Elena was even considering using her insurance funds to buy a house for her family when Caroline finally decrees which university she and her friends shall be attending.

Wherever she goes I will buy property for her there and offer it to her free of charge, I can even backdate the documents and have her believe that I have owned the land for years and have no further use for it.

My actions might seem excessive for a man with no romantic designs but I have always held a soft spot for Elena, the sweet girl who has fought so valiantly against every threat thrown at her, all the while burying every family member she has until she is almost completely alone.

It is the very least I can do.

She calls me the morning as I am holding Marcel's daylight ring in my hands and trying to decide whether to burn the bodies of the Deveraux witches or to bury them in a mass grave. My little brother is in the hospital with Hayley and their newborn son.

Erik Mikaelson.

I saw him for a few minutes after the birth when Nik was holding his in his arms, completely bewildered with this new life before him. An absolutely beautiful child, unfortunately with his mother's colouring but as our family was a peculiar mixture of blondes and brunettes he still resembles an Original.

A perfectly healthy child and thus far one with no apparent supernatural qualities despite being the offspring of a hybrid and a werewolf.

I would have liked to spend the entire day staring at this miraculous creation but Niklaus reminded me that New Orleans still had to be conquered. Marcel was dead but the coven of witches had to be dealt with, and we had not yet had time to prepare a nursery for our newest family member.

I have always been happy to talk with Elena but I had rather more pressing issues on my mind than the romantic entanglements and societal wonderments of Mystic Falls.

When I answer her call I almost find myself divulging the news of Erik's birth, announcing that I am an uncle and telling her how he has a birthmark on his right shoulder and rolls of fat on his little legs.

I stop myself in time.

Erik is someone I want to keep safe for as long as possible and if word got out that his mother had been held captive by a coven for nine months as guarantee Niklaus would jump at their every command, fools might get the impression that this is a tactic to play against my family.

I would rather prefer to limit the number of supernatural creatures that I have to decapitate and disembowel to ensure the safety of my kin.

Violence can be ever so vulgar.

"Elijah?"

Elena's voice is so timid and hesitant that I stop in my tracks and put my free hand in my pocket, wrapping my fingers around my car keys and calculating how quickly I can make it to Mystic Falls.

"Is something wrong?" I demand even as the darker part of me chuckles at the idiocy of that question. Mystic Falls attracts chaos like New Orleans attracts tourists.

Instead of the expected cry for help, I get a further minute of silence,

"Um...kinda?"

I start the engine and resist the urge to correct Elena's grammar, she usually makes the effort to speak properly around me just as Kol and Niklaus occasionally went to effort to resemble uneducated dockworkers in the hope of infuriating me.

"Is my presence required?" I ask without the least enthusiasm and I find myself already deciding whom I can send in my stead, perhaps Rebekah could come back from Europe for the weekend? It would inconvenience her but seeing as she has been remarkably absent while her nephew's continued existence was in a constant state of flux I feel little guilt about imposing on her.

"No" she sighs and I know then that she is the only being on the other line. If she was with either of the Salvatore men they would be reminding her that it is rather rude to sound so relieved upon the realisation that you won't have to see the other converser in person anytime soon.

With that in mind I make a point to keep the relief out of my own voice, "How might I help?"

She takes a deep breath and I remember when she told me that my brother Finn had died. However she can't be bearing similar news, I'm down to two living family members as it is and neither of them is currently occupying Mystic Falls.

Three living family members in fact. But I doubt little Erik has yet to leave his father's sight.

"So after graduation...you know once all the dead people went back to being dead..."

Yes I'd heard about that, Kol himself had returned from the Other side, he and Niklaus had spent a precious few hours together, he'd even rung me and I'd had the chance to talk with him once more, say goodbye to my little brother.

"Well" she clears her throat nervously, "I was looking for Jeremy or Bonnie and I kinda ran into Katherine..."

I pinch the bridge of my nose; the Other Side is populated with the supernatural beings whom have run into Katherine Pierce. She coined the term, 'Kill first and ask questions later'

"She...uh...she tried to kill me"

I admire the blasé way Elena Gilbert announces that there was yet another attempt on her life, although I suppose as a Mystic Falls resident this is a rather common occurrence, something to be considered as mundane as grocery shopping or paying taxes.

That's why I like being so powerful, when someone does make a serious effort to kill you it's a novelty and thus far, always unsuccessful.

"Well I am glad you survived the ordeal" I tell her, my words clipped, I'm rather pressed for time and not even Elena would be foolish enough to call me had she managed to kill Katherine.

The day she dies I'll burn the entire state of Virginia and everyone inside it to the ground and erect her tombstone out of the ashes.

"Elijah...she was choking me, I didn't have a choice..."

On second thought, perhaps Elena Gilbert is that stupid.

"Is she dead?" I ask simply, pulling my car into the street and driving from suburbia, I can be in Mystic Falls by midnight.

"No...but she is human, I shoved the cure into her mouth"

I take my foot off the gas pedal and cut across a few lanes to take the road that takes me back to the French Quarter, ignoring the outraged drivers around me.

It is taking every ounce of my strength not to take the highway that will lead me to Mystic Falls.

To Katerina.

Human Katerina.

The woman I fell in love with.

That I love still.

Elena seems to take mistake my stunned silence for extreme disapproval because she is frantically justifying her actions, listing in chronological order Katherine's crimes against her extended family and then alphabetically the benefits of her becoming human again.

Perhaps I was mistaken and Caroline Forbes is with her.

I resist the urge to remind her that Originals rarely express their disappointment silently- verbally, violently and frequently but never silently.

I interrupt her because this speech could take hours and I arrive at our family home to find several humans, decorators, electricians and applicants for the task of child minding waiting patiently outside.

"Elena I am glad to hear that you are safe and that Katerina is human, however I have several errands that I have to run. Please call me if she tries something more dangerous or life-threatening than usual"

Which I have to assume she will. Katherine shan't take being made human and vulnerable again well, in fact she probably already has a plan to wreak havoc under way.

* * *

It's not even seventy-two hours later that Stefan rings to tell me that Katherine plans to free Silas from his watery grave.

It's four in the afternoon and a summer storm is brewing outside, the wind and the rain having chased people from the street and with only the rare car passing by.  
From the open window I can hear the restaurant below the mansion, the laughter of its patrons and the clatter of its dishes, I can smell the high quality ingredients that I'd ordered them to buy mixing with the smell of the rain.

I'm standing in Erik's nursery watching him sleep, worried that the storm would frighten him. Hayley is watching a movie in the living room and Niklaus is in his art studio, both of them have their ears primed for the instant their child wakes but he continues to doze peacefully, his little heart beating slowly and his hands clenching habitually.

I take the call and try to understand Katherine's motives.

Everything that woman does serves her own interests, her primary motivator is survival this was why she came to me to negotiate the cure for her release from Klaus' hatred and enforced exile. This is why she loved both Salvatore brothers, to create enough gossip so that when the vampires were entombed she would be believed to be trapped with them. This is why she fled the night I poured my heart out to her and tricked Rosemarie and Trevor into making her a vampire.

'Better you dead than I'

"Perhaps she intends to release Silas in the hopes he'll kill me?" Niklaus suggests, leaning against the doorframe with the paintbrush still in his hand. When I don't immediately answer he crosses the room and braces his hands on the cot, looking down on his son, "After all she's human now, she'll survive the mass genocide my death will cause"

I accept that as a possibility even as my heart bleeds at the thought, I leave the room and go to my own to begin packing but I can't bring myself to focus on the mundane task.

"The cure is gone, Silas will be furious...but if he kills you and subsequently your entire line Bonnie Bennett will either raise the veil to resurrect every enemy he's ever made or ensure a way to kill and trap him on the Other Side"

Niklaus doesn't bother following me to my bedroom, we can speak well enough through the walls,

"Then perhaps you should ring and tell her that I granted her the freedom she's been after?"

I ignore that statement, even if I had the time to wrap my head around the opportunity I've waited five hundred years for, how does my brother expect me to convey this to Katherine over the phone?  
_  
'Yes my love you're completely free, no darling this isn't a trap we can finally be together...well yes in New Orleans that is where my newborn nephew is...why yes I am living in the same house as my brother, incidentally the man who butchered your family and whom has been terrorising you for half a millennia, how soon can you get here? Also tell Caroline that Klaus sends his love'  
_  
"Even if she's out for vengeance" I continue theorising, "Killing you would kill Stefan Salvatore who she's readily admitted to having loved"

Nik scoffs and closes the window as Erik snuffles in his sleep, "Stefan's nothing but a mere shadow of you mate"

I roll my eyes and decide not to bother packing, Rebekkah has yet to clear out her house in Mystic Falls and I left several suits there in case of emergencies so I grab my car keys and make my way downstairs just as Erik wakes and Hayley brushes past me,

"Good luck" she tells me with excessive nonchalance as she meets my brother in the hallway and takes their baby into his arms.

They aren't even in love and they already have a more stable relationship than I have ever had with Katherine.

I'm close to hating her in that moment.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- As promised, the link to my other story New Lives. The first chapter was supposed to be Elijah focused but after the complaints about lack of Klaroline I rewrote the first chapter entirely which also helped me realise the direction I want the two stories to go in so thanks to my reviewers.

s/9455602/1/New-Lives

* * *

Katherine hid from my brother with relative success for five hundred years.

Nevertheless I am always able to find her.

Sometimes it took years, sometimes it took months, sometimes-like today- it took me twenty minutes and a perfectly drawn map with directions and helpful instructions.

Caroline Forbes had even been kind enough to staple an invitation to the Founding Family street party that was taking place at the end of the week if I chose to stay that long.

Her blasé attitude towards the execution of her enemies is so reminiscent of my brother I could have sworn I saw his smirk on her face when she handed me the paper.

"D'you want help taking her out?" she asks me as I take my leave, I frown at the question,

"Katerina is currently a vulnerable human, I am a millennia old Original I think I'll be able to handle her"

"Oh we're not worried about your ability to take her in a fair fight" Damon explains, "We're worried that you're going to screw us over _again_"

I really admire the vampires of Mystic Falls, they are the only coven in the entire world that would dare speak to any member of my family thus. Although they do speak the truth, my track record with them has been rather dishonourable.

Nevertheless, I have a better chance of reaching Katerina alone. She has a façade which she has perfected for her enemies but can never maintain around me, a few sweet gestures and she will explain everything to me in minute detail.

* * *

I find the dirt road that leads to the quarry and park my car, I was tailed by someone who didn't even try to hide their intentions so I'm not surprised when Stefan pulls up just as I step out into the warm summer air. I ignore him in the hopes that he won't follow me but there doesn't appear to be a single vampire in this small town capable of picking up on non-verbal commands.

I scowl as he falls into step beside me, "I thought I made my desire to be alone perfectly clear"

He frowns and feigns confusion, "I just got back into town, I saw you drive past and decided to follow you…what's up?"

"Katerina is human and trying to access Silas' tomb" I explain curtly as I lead the way to the quarry pushing a branch out of my way, my hackles rising at his presence. Stefan laughs and the sound grates on my nerves, for some reason my muscles tense and tell the darkness within me to divorce his spinal cord from his body "And what plan does that crazy bitch have for us today?"

I glance at him over my shoulder but decide to let his sudden change in character slide, perhaps he's overplaying the enmity in the hope that I shall forget the numerous times he held Katherine in his naked arms and the fact that she professed her love for him.

He was Elena's first great love and killing him would hurt her.

The next branch that gets in my way is ripped clean from the tree and ground into splinters,

"Katherine Pierce is not insane, nor has she ever been" I tell him clearly, "Her actions, when considered in hindsight have always been perfectly rational and calculated to achieve her goals. She can be cold, cruel and impulsive but she has never been insane"

I hear the snap of a twig a mile ahead of me and rush into the clearing, reaching the cliff side just as Katerina drops the bolt cutter into the grass and pulls up her leg to unclasp her stilettoes, she stumbles when she sees me and drops the shoe, standing before me with one pale bare foot. I fantasize about cupping that delicate foot before I wrap her toned leg around my waist and then dispel the thought before I get distracted.

It doesn't help that she's staring at me with hope overwhelming the habitual fear in her eyes,

"Elijah" she smiles and I nearly come undone,

"Katerina" her name rolls off my tongue but it always has. "I see becoming human again hasn't changed a thing"

There is confusion written over her beautiful features but she attempts to cover it up with dark humour,

"Wait another ten years I'm sure we'll see some changes then"

She shrugs her shoulder and I want to capture her wrists in my hands and hold her against the nearest tree. My mind is awash with conflicting thoughts and I have to consciously remind myself of why I'm here, of what she has done.

"I was referring to your selfishness," I explain letting the disappointment seep into my tone,

"Your cruelty and determination to harm those around you. Katerina how could you even think of releasing Silas?"

"No" she argues, shaking her head and taking an unsteady step towards me "Elijah you don't understand…"

I want to listen to her, a part of me so desperately wants to believe the lies she'll tell me, to understand the reasons why she wants to destroy this town but the better part of me wants to hurry home to New Orleans to see Niklaus bathe his newborn son.

"Enough" I tell her firmly, seeing her flinch even though I did not raise my voice, "Silas was a monster Katerina, one capable of killing us all, I do not care what the people of this town have done it does not merit such vengeance even from you" I flash to her side and pick up the bolt cutter glaring into her eyes as I straighten up,

"I am leaving now and I don't care how Stefan Salvatore chooses to exact his revenge, you will not approach Silas or this quarry ever again"

She flinches and her eyes water with unshed tears that I want to spill just so I can kiss them away, "Elijah please"

I turn and walk away, I am halfway down the path when she releases a strangled scream and I hear a sound that is all too familiar.

Even so, I don't flash back to the cliff, I walk slowly I take my time and with every single step I drown in the dark ocean of denial.

Perhaps I am mistaken, perhaps I misheard, perhaps I imagined the sound and when I re-emerge into the clearing Katerina will be standing there alone, sulking and plotting her next move, trying to determine whether seducing me will work but most assuredly alive.

I find myself praying to Freyja in my mind, already begging for her mercy because even in the midst of my denial some part of my mind acknowledges the truth.

So when I can bring myself to re-enter the clearing half an hour later I'm not completely surprised to find Katerina lying prostrate on the ground.

* * *

Even in death Katerina Petrova is astoundingly beautiful.

Were it not for the grey pallor of her skin and the bloodied heart lying beside her, she might even have been sleeping.

If only it hadn't been such an overcast day, with the stray leaves having fallen on her body and the damp earth having smudged her clothes, it combined with the hole in her chest to ruin the tranquil image of a woman resting, waiting for her lover.

Even as I kneel beside her corpse I continue playing with the fantasy in my mind, trying to escape the reality before me, I pick up her manicured hand, the one that was stone cold and already experiencing rigor mortis and kiss it gently. In an ideal world her eyes would open and she would smile warmly at me and then I would have her permission to embrace her and kiss her lovely lips.

This world has long since been several thousand miles short of good, let alone ideal so when I sit back against the tree and cradle her in my arms her head falls over my elbow and the blood that had begun to congeal in her throat slides out of her mouth.

I want to turn my face away in disgust but instead I force myself to wait until the last drop of blood trickles into the dirt before shifting her body so that her head rests against my chest. Her chocolate brown eyes have always captivated me but now they are unfocused and incapable of lighting up with warmth and happiness. I use my free hand to lower her eyelids and the cuff of my expensive sleeve to wipe away the smear of blood on her cheek. The blood immediately stains my linen and the scent of her decaying form will permeate and ruin my suit but still, this is the very least I could do.

Her heart is lying in the dirt next to her, my future murder victim was so crude as to rip it from her chest and tear into it with his teeth, ripping the tissue and draining the blood from the organ. I shift her on my lap so that I can reach down and pick it up, noting with distaste that dirt and grass has already become stuck to this precious piece of the woman I loved.

Although I doubt that her sudden departure from this world shall make me love her any less.

I use my handkerchief to gently wipe the ironically broken organ as clean as possible. I stretch my legs out to ensure her comfort in my embrace and my foot kicks the bolt cutter she'd brought with her. Its broken and I can see skin and blood on the head, she must have tried to use it to defend herself against…

"Wait" I murmur looking down at her peaceful face, stroking her brow with my thumb, giving voice to my thoughts to try and make sense of them as they swirled around my mind.

"You killed Marcel my love, you were completely human and you managed to kill a vampire roughly the same age as Stefan Salvatore…even with the element of surprise he shouldn't have been able…"

"_I just got back into town, I saw you drive past and decided to follow you…what's up?"_

Stefan had been the one to ring me and warn me that Katherine was planning on freeing Silas, yet only an hour ago he had claimed to have no knowledge of what was happening. Not only that, I'd felt anxious in his presence, not that I had recognised the emotion at the time, it had been so long since I had felt frightened for my wellbeing that I couldn't easily remember how my body reacted when it was threatened.

Why would I feel unsafe around a vampire that was nine hundred years younger than myself and weakened by animal blood?

The realisation hits me and I sigh as I lean down and kiss Katerina's cold lips,

"Oh my love, you weren't planning on freeing Silas were you?"

The Petrova's had been wealthy landowners in Bulgaria but when the Ottoman invasion drove them into the village Katerina had been born and raised a peasant, the local priest had taught her Latin and when her family had exiled her to a convent in England she'd learnt the English language but she'd never been formally educated.

What she had possessed however was an animal cunning and instinctive ability to read people.

She'd been the only one to realise that Silas was impersonating Stefan Salvatore and had tried to free him.

Katerina had tried to perform a selfless act and I'd let her be killed for it.

* * *

A/N- Sorry to all the Katherine fans out there. Try not to hate me too much.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N- Super excited for the Originals. Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate all feedback.

* * *

Elijah POV.

It's very clear that the last thing Elena Gilbert expected to see this morning was me walking through her front door carrying Katerina's dead body in my arms.

"Silas is alive" I tell her curtly, struggling with the rapidly hardening corpse.

She's dressed in a pink nightgown that matches her hair and can only stare at me as I move past her to the parlour. She hated her ancestor with a passion but still helps me lay her on the couch and offers me a drink from the bar,

"Katherine must have set him free" she decides, placing a scotch in my hand and patting it affectionately, upstairs I can hear the elder Salvatore climbing out of the shower and a few seconds later he's coming down the stairs wrapped only in a towel. He smirks when he sees his maker's corpse on the couch,

"Someone's been a good kitty" he drawls, clapping me on the back as he pads over to Elena's side, she glares at him and points to a pile of their clothes on the floor he raises an eyebrow and sits down on the couch,

"Silas is alive" I repeat for emphasis, Damon swallows nervously but then covers it up with his swagger,

"Tell me the psychotic bitch didn't fish him from the quarry?"

I narrow my eyes at him, "He was never in the quarry...Katerina didn't have time to reach it before she died but if her theory was true then he has been impersonating your younger brother for months"

"Stefan?!" Elena gasps horrified, she reaches over and grabs Damon's hand looking devastated, only a fraction less so than her lover who for an instant is the very epitome of grief before his face hardens.

"How do we know you aren't lying to us? Another Original magic trick designed to turn bunny rabbits into WMD's?"

I would be insulted but my family has a long history of deceiving the people of this town, lying or twisting the truth when it suits our purposes, blackmailing or outright violence when it doesn't.

"What reason could I possibly have to lie about Silas?" I ask spreading my hands addressing both of them but directing my tone towards Elena, she is my best acquaintance in this town and the moment I have her on my side the rest of the supernatural population will fall right in.

"I believe Katerina figured it out and went to the quarry to find proof or release Stefan...either way when the man I thought was your brother confronted her, he ripped her heart clean from her chest"

Damon looks almost relieved when I finish speaking, "That's your working theory? Katherine spent the entire summer trying to kill Elena I damn near took her out myself, clearly Stefan saw the opportunity and acted on it"

"Damon" Elena prompts in a quiet voice, "If Stefan was in town, don't you think he would be here, with _us_?"

Damon smirks, "No" he leans back on the couch and I move quickly lest I be granted an unseemly sight, he slings an arm about her shoulders and plays with her hair,

"Elena come on, you really think that Stefan would want to come home to the joy of us playing house together? He's probably holed up at Rick's place or one of the other dozen available hideouts in this deceptively small town"

I roll my eyes as it appears I misplaced my hopes, even now I can see Elena is eager to accept Damon's spin on the situation, she's ready to believe that Stefan Salvatore has abandoned his brother and former love because the other option terrifies her. Silas has cost her so much and she has only just started to rebuild her life after a year of chaos.

"What about Miss Forbes?" I ask beginning to become impatient. Niklaus loves that newborn vampire for a reason; she is a one woman army capable of anything, perhaps she will be of more use to me in this instance.

Elena misunderstands me and jumps to her feet, "Elijah's right, if Stefan is in town he'll have spoken to her. I'll call her now"

She runs from the room which is inadvisable in a nightgown as short as hers, I avert my eyes and listen as the elder Salvatore groans and rubs his forehead,

"Some days I just want to evacuate this town and blow it straight to hell" he announces dramatically, "A good clean carpet bombing until everything is a nice fine mist"

He looks across the coffee table at Katerina's corpse, "Did he keep the heart?"

I frown at the obscure question, "Pardon?"

"Silas, did he keep the heart?"

"No..."

In a ridiculously sentimental move I had reinserted Katerina's heart into its proper place. Without meaning to I'd cleaned and prepared the body for burial as best I could without anything on hand.

"But I think he drained it of blood" I add, knowing that this could be an important piece of information.

"Probably because the cure is in her veins" he theorises getting to his feet with a sigh,

"I'll round up the troops"

He strides out of the room just as Elena breezes back in ending her phone conversation,

"Caroline hasn't seen or spoken to Stefan for weeks" she tells me, seeming to confirm our suspicions. She then glances hesitantly at Katerina's body,

"Elijah...maybe we should put her in the fridge downstairs...or the morgue?"

* * *

Logically her suggestion is sensible; Katerina's corpse has a limited amount of time before it will start to noticeably decay, already the scent of death is beginning to emanate.

But the thought of wrapping her in a shroud and placing her in the cold darkness horrifies me.

Elena knows this; she herself had trouble accepting her brother's death. She offers me tea, wanting to play the good hostess but she hasn't had nearly enough experience at feigning normality and acting casual around butchered corpses. If need be I could read a book, have a conversation or host a dinner in a room newly decorated with severed limbs- in fact I have done all these things.

Still I'm not entirely sure which of us is the most uncomfortable right now.

I submit to her counsel and we descend to the basement where she gestures to the fridge they use to store their bagged blood.

"In here" she tells me, bending over the rim and indelicately shoving plastic bags aside and making the minimal space required. I don't say a single word but when she looks up at my face she pales,

"Um…I'll take the blood out?" she offers and I nod, "She'll also need a sheet to cover the base"

Elena brings a clean white sheet back in a matter of seconds and I gently lower Katerina into the small space, folding her legs to make room.

"Forgive me," I whisper, placing my jacket over her so that she shan't feel the cold,

"This is only temporary" I promise, kissing her head as I close the lid and encase her in the darkness.

My foot barely touches the Persian rug in the hallway before Caroline Forbes is bursting in the front door, her hands are laden with shopping bags but otherwise the woman my little brother loves looks immaculate. She grinds to a halt when she spots me and I can see her stretching her senses to encase the whole house. I can tell that she's searching for my brother and when his scent or sound fails to appear, her shoulders droop the infinitesimal amount.

"Okay" she announces brightly. "I'm here and I brought coffee, bagels and Jeremy"

Young Jeremy Gilbert brushes past her and smirks, "You wouldn't have to bring me if my own sister didn't keep sexiling me"

I blink at the vulgarity of that statement and move back into the parlour, Caroline follows me and sets her bags on the table, handing me my own cup of coffee,

"I didn't know what you drink so I got you a large black" she explains apologetically and I smile as I swallow the urge to gag. American percolated coffee is the only beverage I have ever encountered that is improved by the addition of vervain. However as I am not a barbarian I thank her kindly and remind myself that I've tasted much worse things.

Nothing that I can bring to mind immediately but I am a millennia old.

I watch her set the table with a skill dear Elena lacks, I also notice that she has brought an extra cup of coffee. Apparently I wasn't the only outsider she was expecting to see today.

The Mystic Falls gang has a strategy for dealing with enemies. I suppose it's something they've had time and ample opportunity to perfect. First they call everyone available and summon them to a meeting point and then break the news and round table the problem.

Damon has me relate everything that I have seen and heard over the last twenty-four hours, Elena then reiterates that Stefan would never behave in such a manner. Caroline adds that Stefan hasn't spoken to her once over the summer and that as his best friend and sober sponsor it's unlike him. Jeremy plays the role of devil's advocate, trying to counter their arguments but thankfully they decide that Silas is definitely not the one imprisoned in the quarry.

Unfortunately at this point they all look to me for counsel, I put my hands in my pocket and grace them with a blank stare. They don't immediately comprehend the symbolism behind my silence so I make it very clear for them,

"In no way shape or form is this my problem" I announce, "This is none of my concern, nor my brother's, nor even my sister's. You are the ones who refused Silas the cure, you are the ones with whom he is angry. If I were to walk away this very second I would do so without the slightest trouble, he holds no grudge against me"

Despite everything that I had experienced in the last day and a half, I find the disbelief on their faces amusing. When I first met these people I was bargaining with another vampire for possession of Elena, I have betrayed them all more than once and have made no effort to conceal the brutality I am capable of.

Yet they have the ability to be completely stunned that I shan't be throwing my lot in with theirs and partaking in whatever troubles lie ahead. Elena is particular seems especially shocked, although in all fairness the men in her life harbour a collective desire to protect her at all costs.

Jeremy's head shoots up and he glances over Caroline's shoulder, he nods to the deceptively empty air and is darting out the door before Elena even has time to form her argument.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N- So I'm pretty sure that last chapter was the last crossover between the two stories. While they'll continue to intersect, I won't be using the same chapters for both stories anymore.  
Thanks for all your lovely reviews :)

* * *

Jeremy hurries out the front door before the rest of the group has time to react to Elijah's announcement but when he tries to make tracks to the garage, Bonnie holds up one ghostly hand and tilts her head back to the living room showing that she's interested in hearing the conversation.

There is a second more of silence before Damon takes his customary first shot,

"Need we remind you that Silas is the uber-champion of evil?" he snaps, "The guy who tricked your brother into spending an afternoon convinced there was a white oak stake in his back!"

Jeremy can almost see Elijah's shrug and can hear the nonchalance in his voice, "That was when Klaus stood between Silas and the cure, now he does not, he does not even stand in the same state as him. My family and I are of no consequence in this matter"

"Elijah please" Elena's gentle voice interrupts Damon's response and Jeremy's knows that she's holding her boyfriend's hand right now, partly for comfort, partly to have easy access for restraining him.

"We can't do this alone and whatever Silas has planned will affect everyone, not just Mystic Falls"

"Besides" Caroline jumps in with the skill Jeremy always assumed would result in her becoming President or Leader of the New World Order. Back when he got stoned on a daily basis that thought used to terrify him more than the zombie apocalypse, now he finds comfort in the image of Caroline running things. Heck, if she was in charge here instead of Damon someone other than Elena might get a say in the decision making process.

"Don't you want revenge for Katherine?"

Bonnie smirks with pride for her friend's intelligence. An Original is never more dangerous or more focused than when they're seeking vengeance. Klaus slaughtered an entire village and ripped his own mother's heart out. Mikael hunted Klaus tirelessly for a thousand years. Esther pulled every string possible whilst on the Other Side to prevent her son activating his werewolf gene. Rebekah was so furious with him for having lied to her that she was willing to help Mikael kill him. And Finn was willing to kill them all simply because he didn't like being a vampire.

Actually now that he thought about it, Klaus Mikaelson was a lot less crazy than he should have been coming from that family.

Jeremy looks to Bonnie and raises an eyebrow, she's chewing her lip and deep in thought. She looks so hot that he wants nothing more than to reach out and kiss her.

They'd never had the time to kiss. First there had been the age difference and the awkwardness of him being Elena's brother, then they had spent the summer apart, then he had royally screwed up and they'd been apart until he'd died with all their confessions of love unspoken until it was too late.

That's why Jeremy didn't like to be in the house when Damon and Elena were having sex, because hearing them whisper romantic crap to each other or see them cuddling on a couch later, it felt like a slap in the face to him.

He could have had that with Bonnie if he didn't have the Gilbert bad luck.

A bad luck which must be working overtime because for once an Original decides to take the high road, an unheard of choice for the Mikaelson family- he sure as hell wasn't aware that vampire family could even find the high road with the best maps and high-tech gps.

"Vengeance won't bring back my Katerina"

Bonnie rolls her eyes, "Come on" she murmurs, spinning on her heel and leading him to the garage, she waits for him to close the door behind him and turn on the old school radio to drown out the conversation. Not that anyone would hear Bonnie but Jeremy was paranoid about giving himself away, especially when Elena still tended to have sudden freak outs and come looking for him.

"I've missed you so much" he tells her the moment the music begins to play, she gives him a shaky smile and holds out her hand. He can't feel her but he takes it anyway, rubbing his thumb where her warm skin should be.

"I've missed you too" she promises, leaning against the hood of Damon's precious car managing to look so casually beautiful that Jeremy is fighting the rising lump in his throat,

"I've been trying to contact you for days" he complains, trying not to sound accusing but struggling with the loneliness that was coming down on him like the world's slowest tidal wave,

"I know but my Grams and I were looking for Qetsiyah" she explains, "I couldn't make my way back until we'd spoken to her"

He doesn't want to say anything- Bonnie is strangely defensive about her numerous witchy ancestors- but he's surprised and a little pissed off if the bitch finally made an appearance. She makes Silas immortal, kills the woman he loves and then sticks him underground and condemns him to two millennia of suffering and is suddenly doesn't give enough of a damn when the bastard is up and unleashing hell on earth? Even the most evil supernatural beings Jeremy has met over the last two years have typically made an effort to control their evil creations or set up some magical loophole for when they got out of control.

And Qetsiyah was supposedly on their side.

Bonnie reads his tense posture and sighs, squeezing his hand out of habit and unknowingly making the lump in his throat rise higher when he can't feel anything.  
"It took a while but Grams and I found her…she didn't tell us much…she didn't even want to talk to us"

The hell with that bitch.

"But I think she saw what was coming because she did give me one useful piece of information"

He perks up at that, "Did she tell you how to come back?"

She shakes her head, "No…and she didn't tell me how to make another cure or how to kill Silas…but she did tell me that there is a get-out-of-jail free card for the people Silas kills"

No.

He can't breathe, he can't think with everything swirling around in his brain,

"What? Bonnie…what did you say?"

She drops her head and he wonders if she's as pissed off as he is.

"When Silas kills a human, their life force is trapped within their body…provided you find a witch to channel enough energy that her life force can reawaken…Katherine can be brought back"

Jeremy wants to put his fist through a wall. It isn't fair, this whole situation is so far from fair that it would have to cross half the universe just to get a damn glimpse of the concept. He glances at the tool shelf Damon has set up and wants to bring it crashing down, he wants to smash everything around him and he know he can't. If he breaks now Elena will come running, she'll bring Damon with her and he's already too suspicious about Bonnie's absence for Jeremy to risk giving him any more clues.

He's all alone.

Bonnie died bringing him back and now she's stuck on the Other Side, unable to touch or talk to her friends, unable to live her life, to grow old or have kids. She wasn't even eighteen.

Katherine Pierce was over five hundred years old. She'd had a kid, she'd had so many years and so many loves and had done nothing but destroy everything around her and now she got to come back because some higher power clearly hated the supernaturals in Mystic Falls.

She would have to cheat death for them to have Elijah's aid.

* * *

When Jeremy can bring himself to return to the parlour without breaking down in tears Caroline and Damon are tag-teaming the argument with Elijah. Those two might not be able to stand one another but when they ganged up a person either backed down or had their self-esteem annihilated until they questioned their life path.

"Hey" he leans against the doorframe and holds up his phone, interrupting Caroline's monologue about the damage done to the town by the Original Family. "I just spoke to Emily Bennett"

Damon immediately scowls but Jeremy ignores him, there is a long list of people that hate Damon for various reasons and it is way too long for him to ever bother reading. "And I just spoke to Bonnie"

That gets the attention of the room, even Elijah whose making his disinterest in the situation pretty clear.

"Turns out Qetsiyah's finally making an appearance on the Other Side and she told Emily that when Silas tries to kill a human, their life force is trapped in their body, so I rang Bonnie and she told me that we can bring Katherine back"

Elijah smirks and straightens his cuffs, "You're lying"

Jeremy rolls his eyes, he's not going to take crap from the guy who let his brother terrorize this town for a year, "You don't believe me fine, I'll grab the gasoline we can shove the bitch's body into the fireplace and burn her to as…"

He can't finish that sentence, Elijah has his hand wrapped around his throat and is dangling him a foot above the ground as he claws frantically at his hand. Elena is shouting for the vampire to release him and Damon is grabbing the fire poker to jam into the Originals chest.

Understandably, he doesn't look too worried.

"Don't think for a second that I care enough for your sister to spare your life" he warns him,

"I have killed for less and the woman I love is currently squashed in a refrigerated container like a piece of meat"  
He reaches behind him and rips the poker from Damon's hand, throwing it into the hallway with such force that it breaks into pieces. He gives Jeremy a little shake and black spots dance across his vision.

"Elijah" Elena clutches his sleeve desperately, tears running down her face "Jeremy wouldn't lie…not about this…please I've lost so much already…I can't lose my brother…not again"

The Original vampire exhales and drops him, moving back towards the fireplace as if the majority of the room hadn't just been planning to violently incapacitate him. "So you believe that Katerina can be resurrected?"

Jeremy's still struggling to breathe normally, Elena drags him to the couch but the sudden brush with death has his hunter instincts kicking into overdrive. He'll have to sleep at Matt's tonight. He nods and massages his throat.

Elijah turns to Caroline who is holding a stake in her hand, "And I presume that this resurrection will be sanctioned only if I aid you in the fight against Silas?"

Caroline is glaring daggers at him and holding the stake pointed at his chest but she nods, and he sighs,

"Very well, you summon the witch and I shall fetch Stefan Salvatore from the quarry"

He breezes out the door before any of them can change their minds.

* * *

A/N- Can't believe people actually thought I'd kill Katherine!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N- Meanwhile back in New Orleans.

* * *

A scream rent the night air, before getting lost in the moss covered trees and swamp water. Diego sighed, rolling his eyes as the werewolf sprinted across the forest floor and bore down on the witch, ripping her throat clean open and baring her teeth with pleasure at the sight of her spilling blood.

It had been this way for two months now, ever since had Marcel gone insane and died.

Klaus was King of New Orleans now and so far things had been going pretty well.

Provided you were a vampire.

The witches were steadily being chased out of the city, for some reason Klaus had offered a daylight ring to any vampire who brought him the head of half a dozen practising witches.

Five new daylight rings later and there was barely even a new age priestess or tarot reader to be seen in the old town.

He wasn't completely heartless however, any witch under the age of eighteen was to be brought to him alive, but Diego knew for a fact that he wasn't being merciful with them either. Covens and siblings were split up and flown the world over, to countries where they didn't speak the language and fostered with vampires who would keep a strict eye on them for Niklaus. They were forbidden to practise any magic or study it in any way.

Not that Diego disagreed with this method, in fact it seemed rather smart to him. Marcel had been content to stick a band-aid over a festering wound, the Original hybrid had cauterised the wound, amputated the limb and ensured New Orleans would be safe from witchcraft for a minimum two generations of witches.

He just wished he was as tough towards werewolves.

His second-in-command or his paramour whichever she was, Hayley was a werewolf who had free run of the Quarter and had been instrumental in the execution of the witches. Once a month Diego and a few others had to scour the Bayou the day after the full moon and throw stray body parts to the gators and burn down any hideouts the covens had retreated to.

She had even less mercy than Klaus.

The witch before him barely looked eighteen and was sobbing for mercy as she choked on her own blood. The wolf barked and raised her head to howl at the full moon, Diego ignored the theatrics and approached the corpse; Hayley growled and gnashed her teeth as he got too close to her.

"Chill" he held up his phone, waving it in his hand,

"Klaus wants a photo of every dead witch remember?"

The wolf huffed and pointedly turned her back on him, following a scent through the bushes. He snapped a picture and then wondered if he could drink the remaining blood, his eyes were dark with hunger but the last witch he'd drunk from had vervain in her system. It had burnt his lips clean off.  
Hayley reappeared at his side with a huff; he looked at her and saw the finality in her yellow eyes,

"That was the last one huh?"

She nodded and loped off back in the direction of the car. He rolled his shoulders as he stood up glad his latest stint as pet sitter was over, perhaps tonight when he dropped her back home he'd have the balls to ask Klaus to be rotated off this duty.

He kept an eye on her as he drove back to the city, heard her whimper just as the sun came up and she started transforming back into human form.  
Diego might hate werewolves but damn he felt sorry for her when her bones were cracking and snapping back into place. He pulled into Conti street just as Hayley was slipping a maxi dress over her head,

"God I'm exhausted" she yawned as she climbed out of the backseat, onto the street where Klaus was looking down at them from the second-floor wrap around veranda. They met at the foot of the stairs, Hayley pushing past him and stopping only long enough for them to whisper a few words to one another.

Diego shifted on his feet and Klaus turned his attention to him, he smelled of smoke, bourbon and the general scent of a night spent in bars. He expected that he would receive a curt nod and be dismissed but surprisingly the new King of New Orleans invited him up to his veranda where he had a drink cart set up. While his back was turned Diego took the chance to peek through the sheer curtains into the house that only Klaus' most trusted friends were allowed into.

The mansion was clean and warm with big open spaces and antique furniture blended with modern equipment. Klaus poured them both a drink and inquired about the night's events as they looked out over the skyline, watching the world lighten as the sun rose. Diego debriefed and then found himself with the courage to beg off wolf sitting duty next month, he froze wondering if he was in trouble but Klaus just smirked,

"My brother will be back by the end of the week and the way the witches are dropping, Hayley shan't be needing backup the next time she turns"

Good because Diego had seen firsthand what a werewolf bite did to a vampire.

He thanks him and takes the chance to leave, determined to get some rest before the afternoon. He knew there was an end of season extravaganza tomorrow which meant tourists converging on the Quarter and every vampire gorging themselves stupid on blood. Klaus would be front and centre to ensure that there wasn't a complete massacre and to enjoy his newfound power.

If Marcel was still alive and King he would have been on one of the parade floats, waving to the crowd. Diego reckoned that the Original Hybrid would find a bar with a street view and watch the events quietly while supernaturals came to pay homage.

Diego didn't really know Klaus. It was hard to, the man didn't let anyone in and it didn't help that he was legendary. Millennia old and immortal.

Scary as hell but the right guy to serve, after all- who'd be stupid enough to take on the Original Hybrid?

* * *

Skye Walters hated the Salvatore Boarding House.

Everything was too antique, too grand, all dark colours and harsh masculine lines, all musty books and top price technology. The feng-shui was blocked by the arrangement of the furniture. The entire house jarred her juju.

The vampire standing in the corner openly drinking blood didn't help either.

She sighs and looks up from the grimoire, "Can I help you?" she asks, his penetrating gaze having bugged her for twenty minutes now,

"You could get out of my house" he suggested, taking a noisy slurp of blood just as his girlfriend enters the room,

"Damon stop being mean" she scolds in the understatement of Skye's very long week. She smacks him on the shoulder but then turns around so that he can wrap his arms around her,

"Can I get you anything?" she offers sweetly, "I'm about to drive into town, I could grab you some coffee"

The girl is a sweetie but really Skye doesn't think she's the sharpest tool in the shed, especially since she's been here a week and mentioned numerous times that she only drinks organic decaffeinated dandelion tea, something that is entirely unavailable in Mystic Falls and none of the vampires or numerous supernaturals were willing to make a two hour drive for.

So Skye shakes her head and once again tries not to stare at the woman identical to the body lying upstairs.

She'd seen identical twins before and she'd read of doppelgangers in the guides her coven had, but to see them in the flesh was disconcerting. Although it did help that they were dressed and styled differently and that one of them was a vampire.

Ironically the vampire had the purer aura and the human had the darker one.

The vampire couple leave the house just as another vampire enters it.

Caroline is blonde, bubbly and her aura fizzles with energy, she plops onto the sofa chatting away in a friendly manner whilst checking her phone and lifting a heavy pile of books onto the coffee table. Skye tunes her out while she flicks through another page of a poorly written grimoire. Honestly witches needed to be taught basic coherent handwriting before they were taught resurrection spells. Perhaps then she wouldn't be trying to figure out if she'd screwed up with Katherine Pierce.

She'd never brought a human back to life before but truthfully, the deal had been too good to pass up.

Skye wasn't a natural witch; she hadn't been born with magic she'd had to study hard for years to achieve the skill she had now and in the world of Nature and Balance, the born witches snubbed those who had to learn the art from scratch. She was part of a lower tier coven in San Francisco, one that had never encountered vampires or werewolves and had been used to begging for pages from ruined grimoires to practise spells.

Abbey Bennett had never even given her the time of day until she had rung to call in a supposed favour. Not that anyone in her coven owed Abbey Bennett anything.

Even in San Francisco they'd heard about the witch lost to Expression and the destruction of the Bennett line, if Abbey couldn't keep her own daughter from the deep end and had cost twelve witches their lives then no coven in the country wanted anything to do with her.

However, that had been before Skye had heard the offer coming with the job.

Two of the Bennett grimoires and the blood of a doppelganger.

In the end Skye had been the only one brave enough to set foot in Mystic Falls a national no-go zone for any sane witch or warlock and to attempt the spell that would bring Katherine Pierce back to life.

And judging by the violent intake of air she heard upstairs she had been successful.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N- Hello, sorry for the update delay, I had a hectic few weeks where I switched countries for the upcoming semester. But I have spare time now and my other story should be updated in the next few days, so forgive me please.

* * *

Hell.

That was where Katherine Pierce found herself after her confrontation with Silas in the meadow above the quarry.

Katherine had never been one for self-delusion, she had been certain that when her luck finally ran out she would end up on the Other Side.

Even after her damn doppelganger shoved the cure down her throat she figured she was still supernatural enough to warrant a few centuries in the magical purgatory.

Not that the thought frightened her.

In fact she considered it comforting.

She didn't know if the Heaven or Hell she had been raised with existed, but the Other Side…

For her it was a promised rest after a lifetime of being afraid, the chance to watch over people but to finally be alone.

To be safe.

Only, she didn't wake up on the Other Side.

She woke up in Hell.

* * *

The sky was blindingly bright above her and the damp from the ground was making her skin itch. Elijah appeared above her and gathered her into his arms, his knee dug into her shoulder blades and her head fell back over his elbow. She was aware of something moving in her throat but couldn't swallow at such an odd angle.

Nor can she see Elijah, although she can feel his tears land on her throat and she can hear him whispering to her, apologising and she can't understand why he's so upset. This isn't the first time she's suffered from his mistakes, it probably won't be the last but the remorse he's showing is so unlike him.

He closes her eyes with his fingers and she opens them again…

She lifted her hand to cup his cheek…

No…she tilted her head…

No…she moved her finger…

Nothing.

She couldn't move.

She was trapped in her body, able to feel everything around her but unable to move or speak.

Unable to communicate with the world around her.

Unable to disagree when Elijah continuously announced her death to all and sundry.

Unable to protest when he and Elena stuck her in the freezer.

Unable to scream when the cold bit into her very bones.

The darkness becomes her world. The cold becomes her very being. There is no time. There was only Before- when she was alive, when she lived in a world of sunshine, when she ran through gardens and was chased by many men who claimed to love her, but only a few she ever truly loved back. And there was Now- when there was no light, when she was frozen and immobile but always fully conscious, completely aware of every millisecond of agony.

She once swore that she would never lose her Petrova fire. She would fight to her last breath and that if she ever did lose, she wouldn't give her enemies the satisfaction of seeing her beg.

She begs for death now. She prays and calls upon long forgotten saints and angels, even God and the Virgin Mary, she screams until she breaks down and her hope is destroyed.

And worse, until she begins to find comfort in the cold and tenderness in the darkness.

* * *

She doesn't understand the strange noises she hears and doesn't understand why she feels as though she is moving. Her cold is gone and through her eyelids she can see her darkness receding, she tries to recapture them both, to chase them in her mind before recalling that she is imprisoned in her physical body and her world was corporeal. She weeps as she is carried through fresh air and into a place where the cold is weak and the darkness non-existent.

And worse. She smells and remembers fire.

Oh God.

What if they cremated her?!

Things are talking. Creatures, creatures that belong to this world of fire and light.

"Silas ripped her heart from her chest…I replaced it mere moments afterwards"

"Still…you expect me to resurrect _that_, she looks like she's already rotting"

"I checked with Bonnie…and Emily, they said the state of the body shouldn't matter, once the spell's done the flesh and organs will start working again"

"Yeah and worst case scenario we give her a little blood and then tie her up for a few days so she can't hang herself"

"I don't think this can be done"

"Then why might I ask did you make the journey here? Perhaps you have yet to realise that you shan't be paid unless the spell is performed successfully"

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, if I did choose to threaten you I would say that if you do not perform this spell I shall turn you into a vampire just so I may have the pleasure of torturing you incessantly for one hundred years"

Silence.

"I can put a stasis spell on her so that she doesn't decompose anymore. Just in case this takes longer than we thought"

The voices are above her and talk for so long that despite her exhaustion and her fear she can process what is happening.

They've found a way to change her, to take her back to Before.

She had begun to forget Before, but she remembers now that it was terrifying and dangerous and that she needed all her strength and cunning to survive.

She wants her cold and darkness.

She needs peace and quiet for her return to sanity.

* * *

She gets neither. Elijah is always present, he is almost her new darkness. Her substitute, he is the tenderness in her new world where there is Time.

There is Morning- which she knows because she hears Elijah move in his chair and then he presses his lips against hers, "Good morning Katerina"

There is Early- which she discovered the second time Elijah submerged her in the water and Damon's voice echoed down in his disgruntled whine, "Its freaking early"

There is Elena- which she hates for numerous reasons, chiefly because this event never occurs at the same length of time after Early. Sometimes it occurs during Early and Katherine knows that Elena is seeing her completely vulnerable and naked.

There is Dinner- another unreliable event that happens daily but randomly and completely throws off Katherine's calculations. However it is the one event that grants her reprieve from Elijah's presence.

Finally, there is Night- Elijah sits down in the chair beside her bed, kisses her hand and whispers "Soon" to her as a means of farewell.

Her return journey to her sanity is a long and arduous one, nor is it an act that she can have much faith in.

After all who among the insane realises just how far they've gone down that path?

Yet she tries anyway. She recalls every event of her life- human and vampire- that she can remember.

Her childhood was a jumbled mixture of happiness and fear. Her parents adored her, her baby sister worshipped her and she was the prettiest girl in the village. Merchants called her papa 'Lord Petrova', although she wouldn't know why until later. She was taught to dance and sing, she could sew shirts and lace but was terrible at baking bread. There were strangely dressed men who came to the village and spoke in foreign tongue, she learnt that these were Ottomans and that she was to stay inside when they came. When she was older, her mother took her to the castle that had been theirs before the invasion, when the Ottomans had kicked them out and made them live in the village. She knew her parents missed the castle, but she didn't mind the village, especially when the baker's apprentice brought her warm rolls, the blacksmith showed her how he forged metal, the innkeepers son snuck her a cup of mulled wine and the cloth merchant gave her a pretty silk ribbon for her hair.

All those available and somewhat handsome men.

And it was the priest who got her with child.

He was the most educated man in the village, he taught her how to write her name and used his position to enter the house whenever her parents were absent, to summon her to the church where they would be alone. She was used to men favouring her, she enjoyed the attention, but she hadn't realised that the priest was different until he took her virginity in the confessional box after Matins.

She was three months gone with child before her mother noticed anything was wrong, Katerina hadn't understood why her courses had stopped and hadn't missed them. Her father had been furious and beaten her, demanding she tell him of every gift or flirtation she'd had until she confessed that the priest had lifted her skirt and done something strange to her.

She can now pinpoint that day as the beginning of her end.

The priest quickly denied his part in the affair and even spread a rumour that she'd allowed herself to be ruined by a pack of Ottomans in the church graveyard.

There hadn't been an Ottoman in the village in nearly two years and everyone knew the lengths her father went to in keeping her away from the eyes of travelling soldiers but not one person dared to contradict the priest. Either way she was completely ruined.

When she could no longer hide her pregnancy her father demanded she stay indoors, she wasn't even allowed to stand in the stable lest someone see the Petrova shame. Her suitors were gone, her friends refused to visit, even her cousins only came to glory in her downfall.

Still, she could have handled that, she could have survived as the village outcast, the slattern and the shame of the family, if only her father had let her keep her baby.

Or perhaps even hold her just once.

She never even saw her face.

It was her mother's determination that saved her life during her childbed fever, she claimed that Katerina's strength kept her alive but she doubts that. Her will to live followed her baby from the birthing room.

Once she was well enough, her father and uncles put their heads together and decided that they couldn't marry her off, but they could lock her inside a convent, doom her to an eternity of sacrifice and prayer.

Half-mad with fever and fury towards her father in the dead of night she steals what little remains of the Petrova heirlooms and she runs away.

She doesn't know why she set her mind on England, she'd only ever heard of it in passing, merchants who complained to her father that the never-ending wars between England and France or England and Spain or England, France _and_ Spain affected their trade routes. Perhaps it was destiny that led her to that convent in England where she passed herself off as an orphaned lady and learnt to speak English with an untraceable accent. Perhaps it was destiny that made her the handmaid of a wealthy dowager and brought her to the attention of Trevor.

* * *

She can still remember with startling clarity the night she met the Original brothers.

Niklaus introduced himself, flirted and returned to his friends, leaving her satisfied that she'd made a good impression.

Elijah terrified her. He was courteous and charming, he took her arm and led her around the Great Hall and even showed her the tapestries and paintings in the gallery, going on at such lengths that her head spun. Worse still, he asked questions. Questions about her life, her childhood, her family, her time with the Dowager, her favourite part of England. She'd had time to formulate these stories, to create a background of lies but he had her weave tales of such intricacy that she was certain he would discover the untruths.

Trevor had taken her to the rooms she was sharing with another female guest of the brothers, a Duchess to an absent Duke. He assured her that she had done well, that both brothers were charmed by her manners and breeding, she remembers resisting the urge to turn the conversation to horses and cattle. Then, mindful of propriety, he had retired and the Duchess Cecily had spent the night regaling her with gossip about the younger brother, Klaus and his scandalous reputation.

Nevertheless, in the beginning, she was stupid enough to be relieved when he was the one to propose marriage.

She had thought that as the younger son, there wouldn't be too much delving into her background and that they could have a comfortable life together, he was always good natured and seemed to match her in temperament, she had thought they could fall in love and be happy.

She still isn't entirely sure why, but after she came to live with them in their great Northern castle, she was kept alive for four months. Enough time for Klaus' frequent absences, his rowdy behaviour, the constant changing of her virgin handmaids with no explanation as to the disappearance of the former one, his broken promises and disinterested behaviour to wear on her.

And every time it did, she turned around and Elijah would be there.

Despite having very little in common with her, Elijah often went out of his way to make her feel welcome, he paired her with a horse and took her riding across the countryside, he walked her to the nearby villages on market days and in the evenings would join her by the fireside with a book while she played the lute.

And whenever he was with her, Trevor kept his distance, an act she found useful as the man's flirtations were becoming awkward. He didn't have the tact most men did and his mooning over her was irritating now she was spoken for.

She wasn't going to lose everything, not a second time.

At least that's what she thought.

Trevor came upon her one evening, startling her as she made her way from the creamery, having stolen a bowlful for the fresh berries Elijah had bought her. He took her elbow, and against her protestations, led her into the chapel where, under the pale moonlight and in the dirty rushes, he revealed everything to her.

And for the second time in her life, she found herself running away in the dead of night.

Only this time she was chased.

* * *

It would take centuries for the burgeoning love she had felt for Elijah to recover from the blow of having him hunt her through the woods like an animal. To recover from the fear she had felt at being chased through the darkness, unable to see where she was going, terrified of being caught and dragged back to Klaus and his devil worship.

No matter what Rose believed, Katerina hadn't realised that drinking her blood would turn her into a vampire, Bulgarian lore had taught her that a vampire had to drain her completely. When Katerina had first stabbed and then hanged herself she hadn't intended on surviving.

But she was a Petrova.

They made the best of bad situations.

She makes a point to ignore the memories of fleeing from England, crossing the border to Scotland and then sneaking aboard a ship bound for Germany, returning home to Bulgaria- determined to be with her family again only to find…

She can't allow herself to consider the role Elijah must have played in her family's demise.

Otherwise she shall go properly mad.

Her thoughts are disrupted when Elijah picks her up, a quick check tells her that it's not Early, which means that something else is happening, he is carrying her to the door when there is a set of footsteps and another voice reaches her ears,

"Put her back down on the bed, the feng shui in this room is the best in the house"

Right.

Katherine doesn't know where they got this hippie witch from but when her mouth starts working properly again she's going to rain holy hell on Bonnie Bennett for choosing to delegate this bloody spell.

Really, it's just plain idiotic to secure Elijah's aid based solely on this resurrection spell working and then leave it to an untested nonentity.

Although Katherine is biased in this situation.

Heavily biased.

The witch, whose name is apparently Skye but whom Katherine prefers to think of as any other nature related noun, begins arguing with Elijah.

"Listen you need to leave the room…the harshness of your aura is muddling up my energy flow"

"I speak twelve different languages and I haven't a clue what you just said but I am not leaving Katerina"

"Look man, maybe we should wait outside"

Why the hell is Jeremy Gilbert being given a front row seat to this sideshow?

"Why don't we all wait outside?" Damon's voice joins the argument, "If witchy here does try something, a wooden door isn't going to slow you down any"

They could all go to hell as far as Katherine is concerned but they apparently settle for going out into the hall.

Leaving her to face whatever came next alone.

Always and forever alone.

The witch didn't offer any explanation, she had no way of knowing that Katherine was capable of hearing her, she simply went about her preparations, dropping heavy objects onto the bed beside her body and muttering under her breath about fussy vampires.

It's the anticipation that's driving Katherine crazy, that's making cold fear course through her mind, she's completely blind and her survival instinct is screaming all the reasons why she's in danger right now.

It doesn't help that when the witch begins chanting she butchers the Latin pronunciation.

Through her eyelids, Katherine can see the customary flickering of the lights and hear an old radio frequently changing stations. She has never yet met a witch who can cast a spell without causing serious blips in the electric metres.

But whatever this amateur is doing appears to be working because Katherine is beginning to feel…something.

She can't be entirely sure but it's similar to waking up after a deep sleep, returning to the realization that you can move your limbs but in the long moments before you want to. There is a warmth stretching from her toes upwards to her skull, when it reaches her lungs she takes in a deep breath and the second she can she snaps open her eyes.

The world is beautiful.

The dark wooden panelling of the dusty forgotten bedroom, the faded Persian rug, the off-white lace curtains, even the hippie with the bad dye job, split ends and cheap ass necklaces staring at her with bewilderment.

Everything is magnificent.

Except the tall dark vampire who flashes into the room and imprisons her in his arms, the wonder in his eyes fills her with dread,

"Katerina..." Elijah whispers her name reverently, a breathless smile on his face, "My Katerina…you came back to me"

Not by choice.

He pulls her into a fierce kiss, invading her mouth with his tongue and its then she can comprehend just how disgusting she feels, her taste buds are committing suicide in protest over the rancid blood that lingers on her tongue. The aftertaste being stirred up by Elijah's wet tongue massaging hers.

She moans in protest and leans back enough that the chivalrous Original can pick up on her unwillingness and releases her mouth, although she is still trapped in his embrace,

"Katerina" his eyes try to slice through her layers and pierce her hidden soul, "What is wrong?"

He left her to die.

She gazes around the room and whimpers in confusion, "My lord" she gasps,  
"Where are we?"

An hour later she's concentrating on keeping her breathing regular and her movement minimal, feigning sleep whilst Elijah rages downstairs, demanding answers and threatening punishment in the same sentence. As best she can tell the Mystic Falls conglomerate are firmly Team White Oak in this matter, they try to appease the Original by pointing out that Katherine had spent the better part of the week for all intents and purposes dead so that she woke up with any memory at all is a positive sign. Yet when Elijah fails to be impressed by this argument they pretty quickly lose their collective tempers and call him out on his unreasonable bullshit. They remind him of the deal he made and kick him out of the house with a list of supplies to aid in his Salvatore Treasure Hunt.

Katherine smirks, rolls onto her side on the newly cleaned sheets and settles down for a well-deserved nap.

The darkness welcomes her home.

* * *

A/N- Review, let me know what you think.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N- So I've failed to update my other story because I am currently enthralled in the Kalijah of this one.  
I am a horrible person.  
Unrelated: There is a Delena fanfic out there somewhere where Damon kills Elena's parents on Christmas Eve when she's a toddler and then involves himself in her and Jeremy's life, I lost the story but if anyone knows the title or the author can you please tell me! I've been unable to find it despite my best efforts.

* * *

Despite what the doctor tells Damon, not all the hours and days Katherine spends sleeping are fake. She is truly exhausted, physically, emotionally, psychologically. She was dead for a week and her body is using most of its energy collaborating with Skye's magic to regenerate dead muscle and tissue. She's also a fifteenth century human trying to survive in a twenty-first century world, her body is constantly fatiguing itself fighting off diseases that it has no immunity to.

Besides, her slumber is her protection. Elijah does not confront her whilst she is unconscious, he does not make demands of her, attempt to trick or deceive her, nor does he explain his motives for returning to Mystic Falls after he unmistakeably abandoned her.

Whilst she sleeps she is safe.

The darkness protects her and allows her time, time to recover and time to plan.

It is a shield between her and Elijah, one she hides behind every night when the Original hangs up his jacket, removes his shoes, undoes his cuffs and climbs into bed beside her, he tries to intrude upon her darkness with sweet nothings whispered in her ear. He promises love and devotion as the memory of him screaming hatefulness at the Quarry wars with the imagery of him chasing her through the woods like an animal and both dance behind her flickering eyelids.

Can she trust a single word he says when he's betrayed and abandoned her so often?

Her treacherous heart begins beseeching her to wake up, to open her eyes and embrace this new world of light and happiness.

It is only seconds away from triumph as the antique clock ushers in Wednesday's midnight and Elijah is running his hands through her locks, playing with the strands and murmuring half-forgotten sonnets from the golden days when he chased her through the sun soaked garden. She is moments away from turning in his arms and surrendering to his embrace when his phone starts beeping from the nightstand. He releases her with a sigh and climbs to his feet with obvious reluctance.

"Little brother" Elijah answers the phone with the endearment typical of the Original family,

"I know I've been away for over a week, like you I am perfectly capable of keeping time by a Gregorian calendar…no I am not on holiday…really Niklaus Erik is your son are you completely incapable of caring for him that you constantly need me there?!"

So it was a boy? Perfect, because the world really needed a testosterone riddled male for the Hybrid to spoil and mould into Klaus 2.0.

Elijah sighed and Katherine heard him pace the room, "Forgive me brother I did not mean to snap…I know you love him…I do yes, I have simply encountered complications in my quest to reach Katerina…no I haven't lost her, in fact I am looking at her now…I can't…she's human now Niklaus, I'm being cautious about her ability to travel…yes I will come home as soon as I can…yes I will bring her with me"

No.

Not again.

Katherine wonders if her heart will ever stop breaking. If one day it will simply suffer too much agony and turn to stone.

Five hundred years of pain and grief suggest otherwise but she holds out hope.

Because the stupid Bulgarian peasant girl once again allowed her head to be turned by Elijah's chivalry and empty words and now she finds herself hours away from being bundled up and shipped to New Orleans to be a blood bag and breeding cow for Klaus.

Always and Forever.

Always and forever alone.

* * *

Her plans change drastically after that. She plots and waits until Elijah finally leaves for the quarry to fulfil his part of the bargain, she's been eavesdropping on Elena and Damon's tense conversations for days and she knows that neither of them will be capable of focusing on anything but their own thoughts. She calculates the amount of time in her head required to free Stefan from his watery grave- assuming that Elijah drives at the speed limit, as he always does and assuming her luck is bad enough that he shan't run into Silas or any complications, she has just over an hour to get away.

She's done more with less.

Katherine sneaks into Damon's bedroom and helps herself to Elena's clothes, going straight past the dresses for a pair of jeans and flat boots, she's human now, so her days of running in heels are temporarily over. She grabs a random t-shirt and pulls it over her head, glad that Elijah had provided her with her own lingerie. Elena might be her doppelganger but until she gave birth her hips and breasts would always be smaller than Katherine's.

She tiptoes back to her room just as a car pulls into the drive, she waits breathlessly and could almost cry with happiness when she realises that it's Caroline Forbes. Holding her breath and biting her lips she unlocks the window and sends up a prayer that it won't resist.

God bless Damon and his obsessive cleanliness. He's kept the wood polished and the hinges oiled.

She slips on her boots and sits on the window ledge, the kitchen is below her which means there is a roof for her to climb onto, after that it's a six foot drop to the ground. Not ideal but it could be worse.

Bending her knees and crouching on impact helps her body absorb some of the shock, she checks the expensive watch she acquired from Damon and sees that she has about forty minutes left.

Running through the woods takes her twenty minutes, breaking into her own house takes her three.

She'd collected a vast assortment of clothes and knick knacks during the summer, she always did whenever Klaus lulled her into a false sense of security, she loved to put down roots, she'd even started growing a rose bush in the backyard.

To hell with all of it.

She ran upstairs to her bedroom and grabbed her spare wallet and her passport. Anything else would have slowed her down.

She was in her car and planning on gunning it all the way to Texas when she drove past the bus station and had a better idea.

Car theft was much more difficult for a human than a vampire.

But tracking one human amongst thousands spread out over hundreds of bus routes?

She left the keys behind the dashboard and bought herself a one-way ticket to San Antonio, with any luck her car would be stolen and Elijah would track that before looking elsewhere for her.

If he looked for her at all and didn't give her up as a lost cause before returning home to his sweet little spawn of Satan.

No, she decided as she grabbed herself a window seat, curled up and tried not to think about the thirty eight hour trip ahead of her.

Clearly she didn't have that much luck.

* * *

Its Friday morning when she touches down in Mexico City, exhausted and feeling filthy, she's barely out the airport doors when her contact grabs her,

"Katerina!" he whistles her name like it's a byword for party, she gives him a disdainful glance through grainy eyes, "Pedro, ¿Cómo estás?"

He grins and wraps an arm about her waist, leading her to a ridiculously flashy convertible that she would crash if she was still a vampire,

"Bueno, Bueno. But what happened to you senorita? Last time we met was…"

"When you brought down the Aztec empire," she reminds him candidly as she slides into the passenger seat, he winces and checks his sunglasses in the rear-view mirror,

"I don't miss those days let me tell you, nothing like luxury and modernity to make you glad of immortality" he laughs and glances at her as she shifts in her seat.

He can tell she's human again, of course he can tell, she looks and smells human.

"What can I do for you Katerina?" he inquires as he speeds through the streets with not even a thought for the traffic around him, she sighs and rolls her neck,

"I need you to take me to the cenote in Chichen Itza" she reveals and he raises his eyebrows,

"You picked an interesting time of year to go sightseeing" he jests and she raises her arm over her head, wrapping around the headrest and turning to face him,

"You and I both know I'm not there to sightsee"

She doesn't take her eyes off him until he's typed in the co-ordinates on his G.P.S and is navigating their way to Yucatan. He doesn't speak for a while and Katherine takes the opportunity to relax and rehydrate with the bottle of water she swiped from the airplane. She didn't have time to get cash out back in Texas and she doesn't trust Elijah not to have caught up to the digital age and trace her card. She would have to borrow some money from Pedro,

He cleared his throat as he ran a red light, "You know, you haven't told me what's in this for me" he points out.

On second thought, maybe she'd have to risk an a.t.m

She sighs, "Name your price" she concedes and he gives her a lascivious grin before reaching over and stroking her thigh, "Katerina" he croons and she slaps his hand away.

"Name your reasonable price" she amends, knowing he was testing her but feeling irritated anyway.

She was sick to death of the men in her life.

He chuckles and puts his hand back on the steering wheel, "Well if I had to choose one thing…"

"The suspense is killing me" she announces drolly, trying to find a comfortable position in the leather seat. A fourteen hour drive would get them to their destination just before midnight, provided they make only the bare minimum of stops required.

"I want Moctezuma's amulet" he demands, "I know you stole it from Cortes and I want it"

She rolls her eyes but secretly is glad that's all he's asking for, she can afford to surrender this treasure considering what she's getting out of the bargain.

"Done"

Three hours later they stop at a gas station to refuel and she bullies him into buying her food and water whilst she uses the bathroom. She's halfway across the parking lot when she thinks she sees a vampire lurking in the shadows and jumps out of her skin before he steps into the sun and she realises he's just a stoned tourist.

Pedro unfortunately notices her twitchy behaviour.

"You know" he begins conversationally as they climb back into the car,

"I heard you have an Original on your tail"

She has another moment of panic before brushing it off, she's been on the run for five hundred years, it'd be a safe bet to use this lie and have her believe him,

"I usually do but this one will have some trouble finding me"

"I could make a deal with this Original," he muses aloud, trying to frighten her,

"Hand you over and get the amulet in the bargain,"

"You could" she allows "but this Original has been ambivalent towards me for a very long time and will keep me alive long enough for me to campaign for your very unpleasant death"

He doesn't take threats as well as she does and growls, turning his face to her without a second thought to the road before them, "I could kill you right now"

She doesn't even flinch but leans over and looks him straight in the eye, "There is a reason you and I fear Dia de Muertos, why neither of us are ever in Mexico for it, would you risk killing me knowing what we know?"

They fall into an uneasy silence after that, he turns out the radio to cover the tension but she focuses on trying to rest, which is impossible in this compact car. Her legs are cramped in the small space and the seat doesn't recline back, nor can she feel entirely safe going to sleep lest Pedro decides to go off-road and ditch her in some other part of Mexico

* * *

They arrive at Chichen Itza just after eleven at night and they have to race miles to get to the cenote. This underground well was built by the Mayans and twice a year the sun shone directly into the water, a feat that had archaeologists enamoured with the natural spring. What they had yet to discover however was that twice a year, a full moon would shine down onto the waters as well.

Katherine had been planning this trip for a while, ever since she realised that vampirism was a closed door for her.

They reach the cenote just before midnight and she's panting and clutching a stitch in her side as Pedro finds a rope leading down into the waters, the full moon the only light available

"You can either climb or jump" he tells her brusquely and she scoffs, contemplating how far down the water is "Give me the damn rope"

She slips out of her clothes and ignores Pedro's leer, "What do I have to do?" she asks nervously, sitting on the edge and wrapping her hand around the surprisingly clean and strong rope,

"Just swim in the waters at midnight" he assures her, "That's all I did, the moon and the magic should do the rest"

She takes a breath to steady her nerves and then slips over the edge, swinging wildly for an instant as the rope took her weight and she scrabbled for purchase. She exhaled and began climbing down the rope. She didn't even make it ten metres before her hands went red and by fifty they were blistered. She tried to go quickly but her hands were wet and stinging with sweat and sores,

"You have thirty seconds" Pedro shouted from above, "Katerina get in the water now"

She looked down, there was still so much rope left and it barely touched the water, but if she didn't do this now it'd be another six months.

And who knows if she had that long.

She closed her eyes and released the rope, freefalling the last one hundred metres into the well.

The impact drives the air from her lungs and the icy cold water shocks her, through foolish instinct she opens her mouth to breathe and finds herself struggling not to drown.

She forgot she's a terrible swimmer.

She kicks as quickly as she can and waves her arms to get back to the surface when she feels something warm wash over her. She opens her eyes and sees the whole cenote is lit by the moon, and it's glowing, she releases the last gust of air from her body but shockingly, she doesn't drown.

She's sinking now, slowly sinking down the deep well until her feet touch the bottom, standing there, her entire world consisting of clear aqua blue water and the dark cavern walls, she looks around for some more obvious sign of magic.

Nothing else comes.

She stands there until she sees something glimmer in a tiny niche in the rock wall, she kicks off the ground and swims towards it, the stunning silvery light it resonates grows stronger as she gets closer but as her hand reaches out it disappears.

She senses something above her head and looks up to see the shining object just above her head, she reaches out and it's just out of her grasp, she lunges for it and it vanishes. She frowns in annoyance but then spies it on a ledge across the cenote, swimming as quickly as she can her fingers manage to brush the silvery light before its gone.

She slaps the ledge in irritation and when she doesn't feel the stinging pain she expected brings her hand to her face, her blisters and scratches are gone.

The light darts between her legs and she spins in the water, following it as it lures her back to the surface, just before she breaks the waterline it drifts back down and lands on her left breast. She tentatively lifts her fingers to touch it, wondering if it's somehow sentient, but the closer her fingers get- the more the light sinks into her flesh.

It doesn't hurt, but when it has completely penetrated her flesh, her breast is glowing but the light grows dimmer the further it burrows inside her. She's curious as to what this magic is, but she's not afraid.

At least not until her heart stops.

* * *

She gasps and this time the water rushes into her lungs, thankfully she's so near the surface she can kick herself up into the fresh air and keep herself afloat while she coughs the water from her body.

But her temporary ability to breathe doesn't mean anything in light of the fact that her heart is dead in her chest. She clutches the flesh above the organ and through the red spots dancing in front of her eyes, manages to paddle over to a tiny recess where she hoists her upper body from the water and leans back, gasping and massaging her chest.

She feels the all too familiar darkness and coldness welcoming her back with open arms.

But she doesn't want deaths embrace, not now that she's danced in the pale moonlight and rediscovered the beauty of life.

If she dies for a second time in a week she'll be majorly pissed off.

"I want to live" she whispers to herself, even as her mind registers through the panic that this is an ironic choice for her last words. Her eyelids are feeling heavy but she refuses to close them, she wants the last thing she sees on this earth to be the moonlight shining on her pale knees as the water laps gently against her legs.

She determinedly dies with her eyes open. But when her heart starts beating once more and she violently gasps, her body thrashing as blood once again begins pumping through her veins, she falls from the ledge and shuts her eyes as she lands back in the water.

But this time she emerges laughing, she feels electric. She runs her hands through her hair and even her roots and nails seem to be tingling with life.

"Katerina!"

She raises her head and can see Pedro's face over the edge of the cenote. "You have to get out now"

She doesn't want to leave the water, she feels magnificent, amazing and so full of life but he is calling her name repeatedly and his tone is thick with anxiety. So with a sigh she swims over to the rope and begins hauling herself up. This time her hands don't blister and her skin doesn't break, she climbs up with ease and throws her accomplice and pleasant smile when he helps her back onto the surface.

"I feel great" she giggles, staring up at the night sky. She gasps when she discovers just how well she can see the stars shining above her, even as a vampire her sight didn't gift her with this much detail. She scrambles to her feet and takes the towel that Pedro hands her, not even asking where he got it from, the world is full of gifts and this is just another one.

"I can see so much and so far" she states, "I can hear the wind in the trees from miles away"

"You learn to block that out" he informs her ungraciously, she ignores his attitude, he can't ruin her elation there is nothing that can destroy her happiness. She raises her arms over her head and spins around laughing happily.

"El Castillo" she blurts out when she stops, "I want to go thank the gods for this"

He catches her arm before she runs far, "You want to put on your clothes first?"

She looks down and chuckles when she sees that she's still completely naked. "Okay"

She throws on the t-shirt and jeans, not bothering with her lingerie and carrying her boots in her hand as she raced across the grass towards the pyramid. The wind ran through her wet hair, the grass tickled her feet and the little rocks stub her toes but there has never been anything as wonderful as this.

She drops her boots at the base of the pyramid and not even winded, began the steep climb to the top. She pauses at the entrance to the ancient temple and bows her head in reverence, even after so many hundreds of years the temple still houses stone carvings of the gods. She cautiously steps inside and kneels before one of the statues, she doesn't know who it is but she feels respect and gratitude,

"Thank-you" she whispers and when her knee registers the pain of a sharp rock she scoops it up and presses it to her palm, dragging it across the skin until it breaks and droplets of her blood patter onto the ground before the statue as token of her appreciation.

She is smiling when she steps back into the night, she looks up at the burning stars and planets and the full moon. She breathes deep and glances about for Pedro.

She sees Elijah first.

* * *

A/N- Pedro is based on the historical figure Pedro de Alvarado who was a lieutenant under Cortes during the conquest of Mexico.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N- Hello, I'm spoiling you by giving you two chapters this week. That's because originally this was going to be one long chapter covering Katherine's escape and confrontation with Elijah but it was coming up to seven thousand words which is too long for one chapter.

* * *

"No" the word is wrenched from her, a denial of the facts standing before her, at the foot of the stairs, his eyes on hers, daring her to break the contact, daring her to run.

Dread settles in her stomach, in her heart and on her skin, she trembles and sweats with fear but she begins her descent.

She is a Petrova. She shouldn't cower, but face whatever came next with her head held high.

Elijah's eyes search every inch of her, delving past her façade, Pedro's reappearance stuns her and she hesitates on the last step, bringing her eye to eye with the Original vampire.

She opens her mouth but her throat is too dry, unable to speak she closes it again and drops her eyes from his intense gaze.

"Sorry Kitty Kat" Pedro's not even feigning regret, glorying in every moment of her downfall,

"I did warn you that I'd sell you out to the Original"

She clenches her fists so hard her nails threaten to break, she reopens the cut on her hand and Elijah's eyes dart to the fresh blood, she doesn't grant Pedro the dignity of a reply.

"Come Katherine" he beckons her forward and she steps onto the ground, jumping when he placed a hand on her lower back. He applied the gentlest of pressure with his fingertips but she knew to walk forward. Pedro kept pace with them,

"You want me to fetch the rope or the towel?" he offered, jerking his head at her still dripping hair, Elijah gave him a disparaging glance, if Katherine was feeling kind she might think to warn him about how this Original detested disloyalty and broken words.

She wasn't feeling kind.

"Keep them" he snaps and quickens their pace but Pedro chooses to block their path,

"She and I had a deal" he explains, "She promised me payment for this"

"Katerina and I had a deal" Elijah corrects tersely, "She has a name, you would do well to use it"

He would also do well to notice the rapid cooling of the vampire's tone but he had been a second-in-command to Cortes himself and was braver than he was wiser.

"The point is she promised me Moctezuma's amulet, I want to make sure that part of the bargain hasn't been forgotten"

Elijah makes a point of sweeping his eyes over Katherine's body, where the wet t-shirt clings to her breasts and her skinny jeans hug her legs,

"You know, I can't be entirely certain but I don't think she's carrying any amulets on her person"

In spite of the situation, she wants to laugh at Elijah's sarcasm, she bites her cheek to stop herself from smiling and he smirks in response.

Pedro just seems even more pissed off by the lack of gravitas in the situation, he snarls and get right into Elijah's face, "I want that amulet"

Trying to intimidate an Original was like trying to stop a tsunami with a cotton ball, in the end you would just find yourself in a world full of pain.

"Pedro, if you wanted that amulet so bad maybe you shouldn't have sold me out" she snaps and storms past the both of them, striding across the grassy plain towards the road where she assumes Elijah has a car parked.

Behind her she hears Pedro curse her in Spanish and yelp in pain when Elijah dangles him by the throat, lectures him for insulting a woman and then breaks his clavicle.

Leaving the five hundred year old man crumpled on the ground, the Original vampire once again rests his hand on her back and guides her to the monument hotel lit up against the night sky, the electricity momentarily blinds her and she shuts her eyes until she can bear the brightness.

* * *

Despite the hour, when Elijah ushers her through the double doors there is a trio of hotel workers seated in the foyer waiting silently for them, they jump to their feet as they walk past to the elevator banks.

"Await my instructions" Elijah orders them quietly as they step into the elevator and the doors close behind them. When the elevator moves Katherine is caught off balance and staggers slightly, leaning against the far wall, the adrenaline is beginning to wear off and she remembers that she hasn't stopped moving since Wednesday, she sighs and rubs her hands over her face.

As per usual, the Original got the penthouse. He sweeps them in and hangs up his jacket, rolling up his sleeves,

"Are you hungry?" he asks her as he moves to the glass table in the main area, Katherine blinks in surprise that he's finally addressing her,

"What's there to eat?" she questions and he gestures to a menu by the telephone,

"The kitchen is fully stocked, you just need to ring in your order"

Looking at the laminated list of available meals she finds it disconcerting that she is in fact hungry, her last meal had been eleven hours ago and she's starting to feel lightheaded and cramping in her stomach. She should have spoken to Pedro about this, she had seen him so rarely over the last five hundred years that they'd never spoken in detail about his immortality.

She orders herself a steak and settles for watching Elijah as he takes the cardboard in his hands, browses over the printed instructions and folds it expertly into a box. He's always so elegant and so well dressed it's hard to remember that he grew up in a little village like her and then he had nine centuries to study and learn new trades.

Like tracking.

"How did you find me?" she asks him curiously and he looks up, "Pedro betrayed you the moment you contacted him, I was following your car half-way to Richmond before it stopped at a strip-club and I realised it wasn't you"

She covers her smiling mouth with her hand and turns her face to the window, pretending to stare at the night sky and deliberately not imagine the ludicrous image of the prim and proper Elijah in the filthy parking lot of a strip club.

She wants to laugh but she's afraid to press her luck. Since capturing her, Elijah hasn't given any clear signals whether he's glad to have found her or boiling over with barely supressed rage, she needs to know his emotions before she can figure out how to deal with him.

How to survive.

There's a knock at the door to signify her food has arrived and he strides over, letting the young woman in and having her bring the cart over to the table.

"One moment" he tells her when she goes to leave, "Wait outside"

Katherine is lifting the lid off the tray when Elijah's fingers rest on her wrist, she meets his eyes,

"Remove your clothes" he orders softly and she blinks in surprise,

"What?!"

"You stole them from Elena, I want to have them dry cleaned and shipped back to her"

"And what? Drag me back to the States naked?" she argues,

"You know I don't enjoy repetition Katherine…remove…your…clothes"

She's hungry, sore and her emotions are in turmoil after the week she's had. She wants to fight this, scream and shout until he gives her some sign whether she's going to be safe or have to run again. Exhaling loudly to let him know how annoyed she is, she pulls off the t-shirt and jeans standing before Elijah completely bare and vulnerable.

She threw the clothes to the ground, he picked them up and took them to the door, instructing the woman to have them dry cleaned immediately.

She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him once he turns back to her,

"You do know that I have absolutely nothing to…mmmph"

Elijah flashes across the room and pulls her into his arms before she can even register that he's moved, his mouth is on hers, demanding and exacting its desires. Her arms are trapped against his chest and he's bending her over the glass table, pushing the plate of food to the floor, lifting her naked leg and wrapping it around his waist.

Yes.

A man was hers once she fucked him. Especially when they'd waited five hundred years to have her.

She moans his name and wraps her hands around his shoulders, "Lose the shirt" she murmurs when he breaks the kiss to suck her neck,

"No" he mumbles, his hands roaming her body and settling on her lower back, pushing her harder against him, she gasps as it creates wonderful friction between her breasts and his silk shirt,

"Kinky" she purrs, rubbing herself against the erection she can feel forming in his pants,

"Well lose the pants at least so the staff don't have to dry clean those as well" She lowers her hand to the button and tries to work it loose but he captures her hand and traps it above her head, lifting his own to look down upon her with burning eyes. She doesn't have the upper hand in this situation and isn't sure how to attain it, she settles for her fall-back sarcasm.

"Elijah I am very good at this but I have never yet figured out how to have sex with a layer of clothing between the parties involved"

"We aren't having sex Katherine" he tells her, using her anglicised name once again, as if to emphasise how much trouble she's in, she frowns and wonders momentarily if her hunger or the magic from the cenote has caused her to hallucinate,

"Okay, I'm seeing me naked on the table and wrapped around you…"

"I do not want the consummation of our relationship to be in a cheap, worthless hotel suite"

As if to emphasise his point, he releases her and she shifts herself so that she's seated more securely on the table. She took a moment to contemplate how the 'cheap, worthless hotel suite' could easily cost upwards of five grand a night before her head stopped spinning with lust and she was able to concentrate.

Elijah's mood had always been tempestuous, but unlike Klaus who would grow angry and then murderous, taking clear and logical steps in his ramp-up to homicidal maniac- Elijah could appear calm and collected until the very second he ripped out a man's heart.

Remembering this brought a twinge of phantom pain to her side where Silas had shoved his fists to reach her heart, she moved to rub the scarred flesh there but the movement caught Elijah's attention and she didn't even want to know what guilt would do to his turbulent temperament. So instead she threw him a sultry smile and patted the table beside her,

"Let's see if I can't convince you to change your mind?"

He checks the watch on his wrist, she recognises it as the one she stole from Damon and removed before her midnight swim, "It is late Katherine, go to bed, we can continue this…discussion… tomorrow when we get home"

Home.

One word that for him meant comfort and family and for her meant a life sentence.

* * *

Her heart rates goes through the roof and she's feeling sick, she gets to her feet and pads over to him, fighting to keep her breathing even so as not to betray her terror, she stands before him and he tenderly brushes her hair over her shoulder,

"Elijah…my lord" she tilts her head back and cups his face in her hands, "Please don't make me go to New Orleans"

Immediately he shuts down, showing her his back and striding away from her, she knows she's landed herself in trouble but the prospect of once again being at the mercy of his little brother's whims is a fate worse than death,

"This is not up for debate"

She scoffs, "'This is not up for debate'?! This is my life Elijah, not an argument about where to get dinner, I deserve to have a say in my own life you owe me that much"

He spun around and glared, "I owe you nothing…I gave you chance after chance for redemption and you lied to me and played me for a fool or feigned amnesia and then ran away to Yucatan"

"I ran away to find immortality, because I don't want to spend the rest of my days as Klaus' vulnerable human blood bag and breeding whore but hey if you're taking me back to NOLA you might as well fuck me here because he probably already has the sperm donors lined up and waiting"

The end of her sentence was drowned out by the sound of Elijah flipping over the table, shattering the glass and breaking the metal legs. Katherine's eyes flickered to the wreckage but otherwise didn't react, she'd seen vampires lose control over their emotions too many times to be fearful by his controlled outburst. He took three deep breaths and then straightened his cuffs, regaining his composure before replying,

"Go to bed Kate…Katherine, now…we will speak once we have had time to overcome our emotions"

She rolled her eyes but moved to the bedroom closest to her, she stopped at the door and typical of her nature, decided to have the parting shot,

"You know I can't overcome my emotions Elijah" she warned him, lacing her voice with sadness, "Human, vampire or whatever I am now…I can never overcome the terror I felt the night you hunted me through the woods like a worthless animal"

She closes the door on his wounded face, locks it and staggers to the bed, sinking onto the duvet and bringing a pillow to her face biting down on it hard and burying her moan of agony into the feathered cushion.

She's been in pain ever since Elijah lifted himself off of her, the cramping in her stomach has moved lower and feels like her insides are tearing themselves to pieces, shredding and dissolving in acid. She knows he can't have ruptured anything within her, he gripped her tightly but if she's not bruised then he can't have damaged her organs. She supposes her hunger and the fact that she hasn't slept since Wednesday despite it now being three a.m. Saturday, a fourteen hour ride in a tiny car would explain her back pain and the headache would be the result of the stress of an imminent meeting with her arch nemesis.

Allowing herself a moment of self-pity she fell back against the bed, tossed the pillow across the room, wriggled under the duvet and was asleep in seconds.

And it felt like mere seconds later that Elijah was breaking down the door to her room and storming in shouting, her eyes shot open and she rubbed them blearily,

"What? What's wrong?"

"What have you done Katerina?" he demands, grabbing her arm and hauling her into a sitting position, "Tell me what you've done!"

What?

Oh god she was so tired, "I haven't done anything I've been aslee…ow!"

Her cramps were stronger now, she winced and shifted, trying to ease the pain. Elijah shakes her to regain her attention,

"If you've hurt yourself in any way Katerina…"

"What you think I'm giving myself internal injuries? Oh I think it's my appendix" she lies back down and he kneels on the bed to allow her movement without releasing her,

"Do not lie to me," he warns coldly, "I can smell your blood, but do not think I shall give you a drop of mine"

Another wave of pain rushes through her and she's so hot she feels like she's going to faint, she pulls off the duvet to lower her temperature and gasps in surprise.

Her thighs are covered in blood. She reaches down and touches one thigh with her fingers confirming that she wasn't hallucinating.

"Are you miscarrying?" Elijah asks, quiet now he knows she hasn't attempted suicide and for a moment she couldn't even comprehend what was happening,

"I can't be, I haven't had unprotected sex since I became human but…I'm barren!"

She'd had complications after her child, the midwife had told her that she was incapable of bearing another baby and her monthly courses had stopped soon after.

She hadn't bled in five hundred years.

"I…" she swallowed and looked down with hatred at the proof of her fertility,

"The cenote must have fixed that problem"

Irritated she checks that she hasn't ruined the sheets before pulling herself up to go take a shower.

Elijah was blocking her way, looking at her inscrutably, he's still wearing the same clothes, clearly not taking advantage of the second bedroom. When he doesn't move she gives up and begins to crawl around him when he touches her shoulder and pushes her back onto the bed, she cries out in protest and lifts her head in time to watch him climb onto her, his eyes flashing and the veins dancing.

Of course.

Vampires loved blood and they loved sex.

This vampire must be feeling like Christmas had come early for him.

He lowers his head to her stomach, giving scant attention to the flesh there before travelling down to her thighs and running his lips and tongue around every available inch of her. Katherine moaned and gripped the sheets beneath her, part of her was very focused on the sensation of Elijah's mouth getting closer and closer to her vagina, the other was listing all the aches and pains she was currently enduring.

When his lips teasingly kissed her clit and his tongue ran over and between her labia she knew it was a clear victory. She moaned his name and thrashed her head from side to side, squeezing her thighs together until his tongue delved inside her and in her sensitive state she was brought to quick orgasm.

She laughed breathlessly as she started coming down from the high but her laughter was cut off by an indignant yelp as Elijah's fangs sank into her thigh, finding the artery and drinking deep, she squirmed to get his attention but he had fallen into bloodlust and only splayed his hands across her abdomen and thigh to hold her still.

Scowling she reached down with her hand and boxed his ear painfully enough to get his attention, he raises his head, seemingly surprised that she's still attached to the lower half of her body.

"Did I hurt you?" he asks concerned running his thumb over the small incisions his teeth had made, she shakes her head in denial,

"No but I'm on my monthly courses Elijah, I haven't eaten in hours and you're drinking my blood?!"

His eyes widened in realization, "Of course, forgive me I did not think..." he releases her and climbs off the bed, embarrassed by the lapse in his chivalry, he offers a hand and lifts her to her feet where she sways unsteadily and has to wait before she can trust herself to move to the bathroom without keeling over.

"I'll call the female attendants to bring you…" his words trail off, Katherine knew he had as little idea about modern female hygiene as she did. She knew there were products out there but having never needed them she hadn't paid attention to the ads. She catches his arm as he turns away,

"You want me to take care of that first?" she suggests nodding to his erection, ill-hidden by his tailored pants, he shakes his head,

"No…ah…shower Katerina and rest, you must be tired"

Her shower is quick, mainly because she's struggling to keep her eyes open, she'd had maybe two hours sleep before Elijah had woken her. The sun was beginning to rise when she staggered back into her room to find a variable army of products on her bedside table, along with a small suitcase she recognised as having owned in Mystic Falls. She opened it cautiously and saw three pairs of clothes, shoes and a nightgown.

Elijah had gone to her home and packed her clothes and toiletries. The outfits even matched and she remembered having worn them when she had been with him last.

He had made an effort to provide for her.

She smiles at his thoughtfulness, changes and climbs back into the bed.

Hoping to sleep peacefully.

But she soon wakes up in agony.

* * *

A/N- So tension there, miscommunication, other issues that can't be dealt with overnight.

What do you think my lovelies?


	13. Chapter 13

A/N- So yes I am an absolutely horrible person who takes waaaayyy too long to update. Trust me you guys can't hate me anymore than I hate myself right now for doing that to you but I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. See I have to wrap up the Kalijah issues so I can get to the heavy Klaroline which is next chapter but I had trouble writing this because I didn't want them to have a perfectly happy-forget-five-hundred-years ending.  
But here it is.  
Also I swear by the abs of Joseph Morgan and Ian Somerhalder that Klaroline is next chapter. They shall be in the same city and in the same room/area and they shall be talking and doing whatever else I can get them to reasonably do to one another considering the dire situation they shall be in.  
Also disclaimer- I own nothing.

* * *

"Can't you do _something_?!" Elijah demanded for the umpteenth time as the hotel nurse in front of him held out her hands helplessly,

"Sir I am not a miracle worker, your wife is experiencing cramps due to her period, she needs rest and a hot compress on her stomach will help but unless you allow me to give her pain medication…"

He shook his head, "I told you, she is allergic to pain medication"

"All of them?!" the nurse quipped sceptically and Elijah's gums throbbed with the desire to tear into her flesh and drink deeply,

"Very well, then there is nothing more I can do…I'd suggest exercise but considering the amount of pain she is in it'd be best to leave her for a few more hours and don't feed her anything heavy"

He ran his tongue along his teeth but let her leave the room alive, muttering darkly in Spanish, cursing him in a language she didn't realise he could speak fluently. Banging his hand against the countertop in frustration he checked the watch Katerina had stolen from Damon Salvatore and which he had conveniently forgotten to mail back with Elena's clothes. It was a magnificent piece, although it was currently annoying him by displaying a combination of numbers he did not wish it to do.

They were short on time.

He looked to the two suitcases he had packed last night after Katerina had crawled back into bed and he had needed a distraction lest he throw restraint to the wind and allow himself to join her.

To love her would be to be enslaved by her, he couldn't surrender to that passion, not when he was  
so far from home.

When he was so far from his family.

Straightening his shoulders he stepped into the bedroom, blocking his ears to the sound of Katerina's shallow breathing. She was huddled under the duvet, a tiny lump curled up tightly against the pain. He sat down on the bed and lay his hand where he believed her shoulder to be,

"Katerina" he whispered tenderly, receiving a muffled groan in response,

"It's time to get up" he continued,

"No" she spat the word at him defiantly.

He pulls back the duvet so that he can see her face. His heart breaks at the pale pain registered there, tears are drying on her nose and lips, and he wants to bend down and kiss her cheek, to stroke the hair that's falling across her face, to crawl in beside her and cradle her until her pain is gone.

He can't do any of those things.

He can't risk losing himself.

"We have to leave soon" he informs her, hiding behind a cold, harsh tone. She grumbles and buries her face deeper into the pillow, clearly hoping that her ill health will buy her time.

"Katerina we are leaving in half an hour, you can either get dressed or go as you are but as we shall be in a public area I wouldn't recommend it"

He is halfway off the bed when her pillow connects with his head and halfway to the door when she throws the lamp after him.

Yet a few minutes later he hears the shower running and when he takes the suitcases and leaves the room, waiting at the elevator banks, she hurries after him, her face unmade and her hair untreated, still pale and hunched over slightly but present.

She leans against him as they wait in the lobby for the valet to bring the car around, resting her forehead on his shoulder joint and crinkling his suit between her clenched fingers.

He can't tell how much of her pain is real and how much is play acting and the pain killers the nurse left in the room are sitting heavily in his inner pocket.

The suitcases are loaded into the car but when Elijah opens the front passenger door for her she ignores him and climbs into the back seat, lowering the window so that she can reach out and grab the beck of his jacket as he passes, pulling it off him as he instinctively works to free himself from the grip. When he rounds the vehicle and climbs into the driver's seat he can see that she's using his expensive tailored jacket as a makeshift pillow.

It truly astounds him that even when Katherine thinks he's taking her back to New Orleans as a captive bound for servitude she can still twist the situation so that he feels like a bodyguard escorting his queen.

He bites on his cheek to hide his amusement and pulls out onto the highway. They have a two hour drive to the International airport and he's already had the plane delayed for an hour as it is.

* * *

An hour into the drive Katherine pulls herself into a sitting position, leaning on the front seats to pull herself into view,

"Thirsty" she announces, and he can see a gas station two miles ahead, "How's the pain?"

"Why, you thinking of dosing me?" she holds up the little box of pills and tosses it onto the dashboard, "Klaus would be furious if you went to all this effort to find me and then killed me before I even got back into U.S airspace"

He makes an effort not to warp the steering wheel under his grip and decides to ignore her last statement, "On a scale of one to ten?"

"Like I've been stabbed with werewolf venom and vervein" she complains sullenly, "But seeing as my five hundred year old central nervous system wouldn't know how to cope with the drugs, it's not like we can do anything about that now can we?"

He meets her gaze in the mirror, "Do you know why you're bleeding now? I assumed when you received the cure…"

She shrugs, "My guess is the cure just restored me to the state I was in before I died whereas the water from the cenote fixed me up, hence the reason I'm fertile again just in time for your darling brother to start rebuilding his hybrid army"

She flops back down into her seat and puts her feet on the glove box next to Elijah's arm, he grits his teeth at the rudeness and settles for pulling into the rest stop with more than required force.

He turns to face her before climbing out of the car, "Don't try to run" he warns her,

"Otherwise I shall lock you in the boot with the luggage"

She crosses her arms and doesn't dignify him with an answer. He still locks the car as he steps into the large gas station and grocery store. He browses the water half-heartedly whilst scanning the other customers for potential snacks. He knows he should probably wait until he gets back to New Orleans but the way Katherine is testing his nerves, the better fed he is the more resistant he would be to anger.

One customer catches his eye, she's a young woman, probably a college student, long blonde hair tied up in a messy bun, looking worse for wear. She grabs a small bottle of water from the shelf and screws off the lid before pulling a small package from her handbag and dropping a tablet in the water, it begins to dissolve and she shakes it up before taking a long drink.

She catches him staring at her and gives him a greasy look, she's pretty enough to be used to and unappreciative of men watching her.

She did however, give him an idea.

He grabs the largest bottle of refrigerated water available and takes it to the counter, paying for it and then moving to the side. He'd pocketed the painkillers after Katherine's tantrum, now he breaks the plastic and holds one between his thumb and forefinger, using his strength to break it into quarters and then drop one of the tiny pieces into the water.

It was completely dissolved by the time he climbed back into the car and handed the bottle to Katherine, she took the bottle and frowned when she opened it,

"It's already opened" she pointed out and he concentrated on the road ahead,

"Forgive me, I was thirsty"

Her instincts are clearly distracted by the pain because she settles back and slowly sips the water.

By the time he returns the car to the rental dealership at the airport, Katerina is giggling hysterically at a gathering of clouds that to her resemble an underwater unicorn. To Elijah they resemble an oncoming storm but he is not the one rendered stoned by the tiniest amount of painkiller. He compels a security guard to carry the suitcases and lifts her out of the car, she gasps excitedly at finding herself airborne and wraps her arms around his neck,

"I love you" she tells him, reaching up to kiss his jaw and swinging her legs, causing one of her heels to fall to the sidewalk, he sits her on a bench and retrieves it, slipping it back onto her foot, she giggles and loops her arms around his shoulders, this time kissing him on the mouth. He briefly allows himself the pleasure of kissing her back, feeling her lips against his own.

He leads them to the check-in desk for their flight, the one he had booked when he arrived in Yucatan and compelled the attendants in advance to delay as required. Katerina is still leaning heavily against him, but she has an arm wrapped around his waist and despite the variances in their outfit selections, Elijah knows they appear to be romantically involved as opposed to perceived hostage taker and unwilling escort.

Katerina Petrova hasn't travelled under her own name since 1498, so when Elijah hands over her passport he wonders which five foot seven brunette died so that she could obtain a passport or whether she settled for a cleaner method of identity theft.

When he collects their tickets and moves through to customs, his eyes scan the name and he stops and turns to her with raised eyebrows, "You're not serious?"

Katerina gave him an innocent smile and quick shrug, "What?"

Her chosen alias was Mary Shelley.

* * *

With no hand luggage they got through security with relative ease, although Katerina's disorientation meant he had to convince the numerous guards that she was merely tipsy as opposed to drugged out of her ultra-sensitive mind.

His phone rang just as he convinced her to sit down in the first class lounge instead of following the vulgarly intoxicated British backpackers into the nearest bar.

Checking the screen he saw his brother's name and felt a wave of longing to be back home.

Strange that after so many centuries, being apart from his brother for two weeks hurt so much.

Although he supposed it was rather the separation from his nephew that was the critical factor.

"I'm in the airport now" he answers by way of greeting, but realises almost immediately that the person on the other line isn't Niklaus.

Their breathing is different.

It helps that the voice is also female.

"Cool" Cami responds, "How long d'you think it'll take to get back?"

He blinks bewildered and wonders momentarily if longing made him misread the name on his phone, "It…shouldn't be much more than an hour…Camille, why do you have my brother's phone?"

"Klaus is in the shower, Erik had a tantrum and threw his mashed peas all over him...your nephew has killer aim by the way"

Elijah laughed and caught Katerina's attention, she didn't comment however, she just lay down with her head on his lap.

"And you're calling to tell me the good news?" he asked amused at the prospect of his brother being so inconvenienced by his own son.

"No" she sighed and Elijah could hear her moving before the sound of his nephew' cries made his hair stand on end, "What's wrong? Tell me now!"

"Nothing major…chill" she assured him, "It's just that Erik won't settle, he keeps crying and we thought that maybe your voice could calm him down…okay…I'm gonna put you on speaker now"

He heard the switch and found himself speechless, unsure what to say but Hayley was cooing to his nephew lovingly, assuring him that Uncle Elijah was with him,

"Erik?" Elijah called gently, and there was a lull in the crying which heartened him enough to continue, "Erik it's me, I have been away for a little while now and I apologise but I'll be back in time for dinner tonight and I shall put you to bed myself I give you my word"

His nephew was chortling on the other end of the line, repeating 'Ja' over and over, Hayley giggled,

"He's looking for you" she informed him, "He knows it's you talking but he doesn't know where you are, poor baby…its confusing isn't it?"

"Are you sure I'm helping and not causing years of untold trauma or telephobia?"

"He's calming down" Cami assured him, "He looks like he's ready for a nap…I don't know he's sticking his head on Hayley's shoulder and closing his eyes…babies aren't my forte"

"It sounds like he's going to sleep…" Elijah looks up as the boarding announcement for their flight echoes throughout the lounge, "I have to go but I'll call when we land"

He pockets the phone and allows himself a few seconds of rest, sitting in the lounge with Katerina's head in his lap, stroking her untamed curls.

"Come" he murmurs, wrapping a curl around his finger and tugging it gently to rouse her, she yawns and stretches like a cat.

* * *

With minimal compulsion they are boarded first and settle into the near empty first class cabin. However because they are in first class there is a distance between their seats which were designed to stretch out completely into comfortable beds with their own entertainment systems and vanity areas with walls to ensure privacy.

Elijah is seated behind Katerina and had just buckled his own seat belt when her head appeared over the partition,

"When did you stop loving me?" she asks casually, seeming not to realise how the question baffles him. Her voice carries as well, the only other passenger, a fifty year old woman in a pristine suit who was already giving Katerina unsavoury looks for her casual clothes and rumpled appearance.

"Might I ask why it is necessary that this conversation take place now?" he rebuts, wondering whether or not to start with champagne or mix all the available liquors together and hope that his livers' superior ability to metabolize toxins fails when he's thousands of feet in the air.

"When I was human you couldn't resist me" she prattles with her current inability to comprehend her surroundings and the lack of supernatural knowledge held by those within ear range, he undoes his seatbelt and cross the cabin to compel the fellow passenger and grabs the stewardess on his way back.

Katerina is still talking, "...once we became friends you couldn't resist me, you know I spent more time with you in six months than I did with my sister in an entire year- and I shared a _bed_ with her!"

Elijah rubs his brow and decides to change the topic as his dear but still very stoned companion comes to the realisation that the physical barrier between them can be overcome by her putting one foot in front of the other and walking towards him.

"Perhaps Katerina, we can spend this flight discussing what exactly happened to you in that Mayan well?"

She climbs onto the seat and settles on his lap, "Well, I'd just like to begin by pointing out that as I was unable to get a single drop of blood from any vampire in Mystic Falls and quite frankly I was _way_ too paranoid about word getting round that I was human and vulnerable, then of course I died and had to get the hell out of dodge…"

"Debatable" Elijah interrupted, readjusting so that they were both more comfortable and playing with the pendant hanging around Katerina's neck.

"But the cenote had been a back-up plan for a while. Pedro and I first discovered it when the Spaniards conquered the Americas, I was waiting to go back to Spain but he was still looking for the legendary El Dorado and one night got drunk and fell into the cenote, he considered it a miracle that he didn't drown"

"It probably was" he pointed out, wrapping his arm around her tighter as the plane took off down the runway.

"Anyhow, I didn't think anything of it until he showed up in California eighty years later not looking a day older, of course I thought he'd become a vampire and he thought he'd been cursed…took us a while to trace it back to a midnight skinny dip and some indigenous legends"

"The fountain of youth?" he inquired and she shrugged, "One of the fountains perhaps? The Aztecs and Mayans had magic scattered all over their empires, the Spaniards destroyed what they could but a lot of it was in nature, not temples and carvings. All I know is that Pedro has yet to age and that he might require food and water to survive but his healing ability is almost as quick as werewolves"

"Yet it doesn't grant immunity?" he thought aloud, "I gave you the slightest dose of pain medication and your body is struggling to absorb it, however it did heal your infertility?"

She shrugged again, "I wish it hadn't, but I'm still alive…vampires are immune to diseases because they're dead, they're essentially frozen in time as the body they held when they died. Any blood they do drink just works to restore the body to the state that it recognises. Werewolves are alive but they're rarely sick because their system is in a constant state of overdrive and burns any diseases away and speeds up the healing process…Theoretically I won't age but the magic works to keep me in a state of humanity and humans can fall ill"

Elijah frowned, "Katerina, this was a risk…you know next to _nothing _about that magic, you can't even be sure of its origins or its purpose!"

She smirked and lay her head on his shoulder staring out the window at the grey sky and the windblown raindrops, "I've been taking risks my entire life Elijah, from the moment I ran away from Bulgaria to the day I gave you the cure and walked away on a leap of faith. I wouldn't even know how to live safely at this point"

"You shall have to learn" he warns her, kissing her temple, holding her tight and leaning back to watch the oncoming storm with her.

It's still raining heavily when they arrive in Louisiana with numerous weather and flood warnings being issued. They get caught with a delayed landing after severe turbulence, long lines with impatient tourists and are soaking wet by the time they reach Elijah's car which he'd fortunately had the sense to have delivered to the airport.

They clamber in, soaking and shivering. He would offer his jacket to Katerina but it's completely wet and therefore useless, also the drowsy disorientation caused by the medication has worn off enough that she has the sense to be furious that he drugged her.

He reaches over to stroke her hair back from her face and she jerks away, glaring and curling up against the door, crossing her arms over her chest and pointedly looking away from him.

It doesn't help that her fear is also cutting through the haze.

The traffic is terrible, the rain is torrential and all that truly exists in the world for him in that moment is the warm air flowing from the heater to fill the interior of the car, the windscreen and the wipers which are granting him a barely translucent view of the road ahead, the headlights he has on at midday in the hope other drivers see him, the knowledge that at the end of his journey will be Bourbon Street where soulful jazz will permeate the storm and Conti Street where he'll step through the  
door to find his brother and nephew waiting for his return.

And the woman he loves and desires sitting a bare metre from him, her wet clothes drying slowly on her beautiful and soft body, the material clinging to her flesh and providing tantalising outlines.

He wants to kill every idiotic driver on the road that moves at a glacial pace but only logic and reason can remind him that even if he were to leave their obese and intellectually challenged corpses on the side of the road he would still have to move their cars, which would take more time than just continuing to drive at ten miles under the speed limit.

He's so close to the end of his journey that the wait is becoming intolerable.

When he realises that Hayley has taken his parking spot in the garage off Conti Street and that there isn't another one readily available he parks illegally and dares the universe to cause him trouble. Katerina isn't even speaking to him at this point but one of the henchmen arrives to take the suitcases for him,

"Katherine, I have two hands free and no qualms with throwing you over my shoulder or dragging you by the arm, it is your choice"

She grumbles but jumps from the car and hurries after him,

"At least get your minion to find you a park" she suggests as he takes the umbrella handed to him and places a hand on her back, guiding her to the stairs and the second floor entrance to the apartment.

"Will do" he throws away offhandedly, he can see Hayley at the kitchen bench drinking from a large mug and he catches a glimpse of his brother's blonde curls. He is through the front door before he can even figure out whether it was unlocked or if he just ripped the handle from the wood and tossed it into the street.

Nik turns to him with a smile, "Big brother, welcome home!"

He holds Erik in his arms, the babe has grown bigger in the last two weeks, his hair is thicker and he has his pudgy hands wrapped around a plush toy that Elijah doesn't recognise. He raises his head and squeals at his uncle, his eyes alight with recognition. He crosses the living area and embraces his nephew, easing him from Niklaus' arms and holding him against his chest, "Hello Erik"

He receives a chortle and his nephew flips his head from side to side looking around from his new found position. Elijah carries him over to Hayley who is watching them with a tired smile,

"He must have known you were coming, this is the happiest he's been all weekend"

"He even chased Cami away with his bad attitude" Klaus adds, helping himself to a scotch, "And considering that woman is friends with me, that is saying something…isn't it sweetheart?"

Klaus uses that endearment to address Katerina who is still lingering uncertainly in the doorway, rain dripping onto her head and down the back of her neck. It is clear that she has very little idea of what to do, after all she can't run now that she's in the very heart of Klaus' new kingdom, but every instinct in her body is undoubtedly screaming for her to flee.

Elijah watches as Klaus approaches her slowly, with no obvious intent to harm, still Katerina grips the doorjamb with white knuckles, quivering with cold and fear.

Every supernatural creature in the room can smell her terror and even Erik whimpers in confusion,

Nik stops and narrows his eyes, watching Katerina, trying to figure out why the fear and dread she is usually so adept at hiding is so prominent, especially now.

His looks to Elijah questioningly but he is busy trying to convince Erik not to eat his pocket square and determinedly not meet his brother's gaze.

With clear exasperation Klaus faces Katerina, "Am I right in guessing that Elijah failed to mention your newly granted immunity following Marcel's death and the fact that I invited you here as an ally?"

If looks could kill Elijah knew that he would be a charred corpse on the kitchen floor,

"He did fail to mention that" Katerina confirmed, finally stepping into the house and closing the door behind her, "It must have slipped his mind"

"_Dude_" Hayley drawled, taking her son and carrying him from the confusion and intensity of the room, "Seriously?!"

Elijah straightens his jacket and picks a piece of lint off his cuff, "I had hoped that you would trust me with your life and safety Katerina" he explains and is rewarded with two near identical expressions of disdain, "After five hundred years?" Niklaus snorts, "His room is second on the right, the carpet is thick so he should have no trouble sleeping on it tonight"

Katerina throws him an angry smile, "Thank-you, it's _nice_ to be told these things"

She storms up the stairs and Elijah snatches the scotch from his brother's hand.

* * *

Camille does them all a favour and turns up for dinner that night, forcing Katerina and Klaus to behave themselves and for them all to feign normality. She explains away her long absence from Elijah's side as an educational sabbatical in Bulgaria and is polite to the sweet human, befriending her before the night is through.

True to his word, Elijah puts Erik to bed that night, leaving soothing classical music to play in the background, checking that his favourite mobile was in reach and that the room was secure, he left his sleeping nephew and eased his way into his room, feeling the tension in his limbs melt away at the sight of a clean nightgown on the bed and Katerina's dirty clothes in the hamper.

It was time.

He removed his clothes, folded them and placed them in the hamper before stepping into his tiny ensuite bathroom where Katerina was showering, the room was opaque with steam and the steady fall of the water covers the sound of his movements. Katerina has her back to him and is standing under the spray when he slips in behind her, she gasps in surprise but laughs when he wraps his arms around her waist, she leans back against his chest and he hugs her tighter,

"How are you feeling?"

She murmurs and shifts, "Better, the medication's worn off and the bleedings mostly stopped, I think everything just happened too fast and my body was struggling to overcome it"

"Hmmm" he stroked her stomach with his fingers and felt his penis becoming erect against her buttocks, she turns her head for a quick kiss and guides his hand down to her vagina. "We shouldn't waste water"

She bites her lip seductively "I thought that was why you wanted to shower together my lord? Water conservation"

He reaches past her, bending her slightly in the process and allowing his penis to brush against her backside, she moans and presses against him even as he's turning off the shower, "I got in here with you because I couldn't stay away another second Ekaterina"

She laughs and grabs one of his large towels wrapping it around their two bodies, and stretching up for another kiss, the towel is quickly on the floor forgotten as Elijah tangles one hand in her hair and lets the other one stroke her breasts and cup her backside. She opens her mouth under his request and he slips his tongue inside, duelling with her own. Her wet hands are running up and down his chest and straying towards his erection. When she grips his penis with one hand and begins to stroke it languidly he groans into her mouth and digs his fingers into the flesh of her backside.

They break the kiss for air and allow themselves a moment to stand in the heated room, breathing and basking in one another. Katerina licks her lips and looks down at his erection with delightful lust,

"I think it's time for bed" she released him and began stalking from the bathroom with her perfected hip swaying stride, the one that made a man hunger for her even as she was metaphorically stabbing him in the back.

"Wait" he stopped in the centre of the small bedroom and ran a finger down her spine, making her shiver with desire and turn back to him.

"My lord?"

She was so decadent he wanted to make love to her and feed from her, drape her in silk and chain her to a wall and ravage her all at once. He had one thing to do first though.

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed the tip of her nose, "Are you on vervein?"

She chuckled, "Why, are you hungry?"

The scent of her arousal made it clear that blood play would be fine by her and his erection is almost painful at this point. "Are you Ekaterina?"

She shook her head, "No…I haven't had any since…before"

The relief almost made him light headed, "Good…listen to me…"

She gasped as their eyes met and his compulsion gripped her brain, "You _will_ stay here in New Orleans with me Katerina…you shall serve Klaus and I _loyally_…you will not leave this city _without_ my spoken permission…you will _never_ run away from me _ever again_"

He kissed her passionately to cover the disorientation she would feel and she gripped his shoulders and rubbed her breasts wantonly against his chest, when his hand found her vagina and he slid a finger into her she broke the kiss with a heavy moan,

"Elijah you have two seconds to get me to that bed or we are spending the night on this carpet"

He laughed and lifted her the last two feet, climbing into the bed and sliding them under the covers,

"I love you Ekaterina" he whispered as he thrust into her, she cried out in pleasure.

* * *

A/N- See somewhat happy ending and somewhat not. The chapter I originally had was in Katherine's POV and darker/ickier but this works as well I think.  
New Lives chapter is getting there, slowly I'm just overcoming writers cockblock.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N- Hello all.  
Wow, thank-you for all the favourite-ting and following- I love that so many people keep coming back to my stories, that being said I did lie to you and while I did intend for Klaus and Caroline to be geographically closer to one another by the end of this chapter, I realised I couldn't do so without creating a major plot hole that they'd have to jump over which would insult you my lovely readers by failing to explain the reasons and motivations that result in this togetherness which will happen in chapter 16.

So I beg your forgiveness and will make it up to you with this chapter having Klaroline feels and chapter 16 having major Klaroline feels and eventually I will just dedicate a chapter of three thousand plus words to major M rated Klaroline porn- it won't even be smut it will be straight up porn.

* * *

The French Quarter.

The heart of his new kingdom.

Klaus stood at the open window of his Bourbon St apartment, below him crowds moved in trickles and waves, laughter and music, life and blood. He sipped his scotch and admired the golden lights that danced in the velvet night sky, the stars resembled diamonds; diamonds he could possess and hold in the palm of his hand.

There was a rustle behind him, disturbing his reverie, he looked over his shoulder as his companion shifted on the bed, reaching for their clothes with obvious reluctance, hoping for an invitation to stay the night.

Momentarily he was tempted to extend one but he had duties to attend to, obligations to fulfil.

Having caught his attention his bed mate looked up and threw him a sexy grin,

"You know I don't usually suggest second dates…" he began coyly, overestimating his appeal to the millennia old hybrid who knew every play in the book and every charade available in existence.

"For a second date to be possible a first usually has to have occurred" Klaus quips, finishing his drink and checking the time on his phone as he poured himself another.

It was barely eleven.

He had promised Hayley he would be home by midnight, she couldn't handle being solely responsible for Erik for more than two or three hours at a time and Elijah was caught up integrating Katherine into his life so he wasn't able to compensate for Hayley's pathetic inability to care for his son.

He could walk the distance to the house in under three minutes but still, getting a back a little early wouldn't hurt.

Stunned by the rejection, his bed mate allowed the momentary uncertainty to show on his face before he quickly slid back into character, "I hear there's a great gumbo restaurant right next door"

"There's a shower if you wish to use it" Klaus told him as he grabbed a clean set of clothes from the drawer, "Take your time, you can let yourself out"

There was nothing in the apartment worth stealing, he kept it solely to sate his sexual desires. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and walked out, not bothering to close the door or spare Stellan another glance.

He'd satisfied his urges, he wouldn't see him again.

Stellan was a Scandinavian vampire, six hundred years old and his primary language was close enough to Klaus' own that they could converse with relative ease. He was attractive with black hair and green eyes, he was new to town and had come with the obvious hopes of meeting the Original family, of worming his way into their inner circle.

He'd failed.

Klaus knew his subjects didn't understand their new king. Marcel had been predictable, susceptible to flattery and picked his favourites with an obvious pattern. Klaus on the other hand already had a family, they were his inner circle and closest advisors, the only ones in the city that were above his laws. He enjoyed flattery but he was jaded enough not be moved by it and impulsive enough that fools who tried to predict his movements usually ended up humiliated or dead.

Marcel had tried to build a kingdom but he lacked the natural authority and commanding presence that the Originals had perfected over centuries of immortality and power.

He might have been the life of the party but that had left him reliant on self-depreciation and showcasing to hold attention. Klaus and Elijah were introverts by comparison but they caught attention just by entering a room and nobody who saw them could consider them lucky upstarts.

He's enjoying his reverie and his late night stroll so he is rather tempted not to answer his phone, with his luck it is probably Rebekah making her long overdue entrance into the Quarter and wreaking havoc in a bar somewhere.

But it might be Elijah calling him with an actual emergency.

So sighing he slips away from the crowded street into a little alleyway where he has to immediately block all his senses lest the sheer stench knock him unconscious.

He checks the screen and sees a number he doesn't recognise. Strange, his number isn't something people can easily get a hold of.

"Who is this?" he demands, wondering whether he needs to be angry or impressed.

"K-…k-Klaus?"

Concerned. Worried, possibly _scared_.

"Caroline?"

Even now her name causes his lips to curve upwards, but he can practically feel her fear radiating through the phone, "Sweetheart can you tell me what's wrong?"

She's not speaking to him, she's sobbing and gasping for air, her words incoherent and Klaus begins storming back to his house.

Whomever took her will wake up tomorrow to find every vampire under Klaus' command headed to Mystic Falls for her retrieval.

"Tell me where you are my love" he begs her, "Give me a word or a location and I _promise_ I will come…"

"_Dead_" Caroline finally manages to gasp in between her crying and hyperventilating.

That one word makes his blood run cold. "If they're threatening you, give the phone to them and I will…"

"No" she interrupts, "Not me…Klaus…Bonnie's _dead_"

The Bennett witch?

He holds the phone away from his ear so that she can't hear his sigh of relief.

If Caroline is safe then the rest of the town can burn for all he cares.

But he knows he can't say that to her.

"I'm so sorry love" he murmurs, reaching his house and knocking briskly on the window to get someone's attention.

Katherine is in the living room watching the television and studiously avoiding looking at him,

"It's open" she calls and he knocks on the window again to catch her attention before signalling for her to join him.

He's still speaking to Caroline, using run of the mill words of comfort and condolence, trying to figure out how to calm her down.

Katherine comes out to the veranda with a legal pad and pen, he scrawls four words across the paper,

_Bonnie Bennett is dead. _

She reads the message and grins like the Cheshire Cat before schooling her features and heading inside for Elijah.

Caroline has calmed down enough to be coherent again, "She's my sister Klaus…she can't be gone…she can't just not be _here_…"

Well technically she isn't, he assumes that the Bennett witch is on the Other side and probably hasn't strayed too far from Mystic Falls considering that all of her loved ones are there.

"Klaus please…you have to come back" Caroline begs him just as Elijah steps outside with a now chagrined Katherine in tow. "You have to come back and fix it…please I'll do _anything_…just come back"

Despite their curiosity, neither of the two vampires- or to be accurate, one Original vampire and one…whatever the hell Katherine now was- were eavesdropping on the conversation so they were both moderately interested when Klaus managed to find a way to smile happily whilst supposedly receiving bad news.

Caroline was scared and upset and her first reaction was to call him for comfort and then _beg_ him for aide?

He wonders how Tyler is handling this and hopes the dumb boy is sitting there impotently whilst Caroline swears her loyalty away in return for Klaus' presence alone.

But his presence alone wouldn't be enough.

Silas had tricked him before, he had got into his head and made him believe that he was standing at death's door.

And whatever lingering delusions he had about being able to jump on a plane and be in Mystic Falls by sunrise were shattered by the waking cries of his son.

"What can we do?" Elijah whispers to him and he sighs, running his hand through his hair in frustration,

"Sweetheart I need an hour" Klaus tells Caroline, wishing he could reach through the miles of distance and hold her in his arms, "Can you give me an hour to see what I can do and then I'll call you back?"

She's crying, begging him come to her and his treacherous mind is already plotting out the course,

"Caroline" his voice is strong and commanding, "I'm going to hang up now and concentrate all my resources on finding a solution and I will call you back in fifty-nine minutes and thirty six seconds exactly. I promise you"

* * *

The second he ends the call, his brain is kicking into overdrive with half-formed plans.

"Bonnie Bennett is dead, which means both Silas and the Mystic Falls vampires are going to need a new witch, a powerful one"

Elijah makes a face, "Well New Orleans is fresh out of those thanks to us and most of our witches are already dead" he turns to his lover,

"Katerina, you always seem to have a witch up your sleeve"

She has her phone out and is scrolling through her address book, "Yeah…mostly because you guys have a _ton_ of enemies out there…however word of us shacking up can't have got around _that_ fast, I'll make some calls"

The three of them head inside and move about the house grabbing their phones and other electronic devices. Niklaus hears Erik's cries continuing,

"Hayley" he calls, "Can you get our son?"

No response.

He frowns, "Is she in?"

Elijah is fetching his laptop from the study and setting it up on the kitchen island, "I didn't hear her leave…"

"She's not here" Katherine calls, heading back down the stairs and switching to Portuguese as she argued with somebody on the phone,

Klaus scowls and hurries upstairs to pick up his fussing child, "We have a bit of a situation Erik" he tells him, carrying him to his blanket in the living area,

"The woman your father loves is in danger. Try to sleep through the night would you?"

"Niklaus it's nearly midnight" Elijah points out, "People might not be answering their phones"

"We're Originals brother" he reminds him curtly, "Our calls are only ignored by the residents of Mystic Falls"

Katerina swore loudly and placed the phone against her shoulder, "Okay, my bitchy witchy contact knows that I'm boning Elijah, she wants a deal"

"Make it" Klaus orders her, sending a mass text to his most trusted servants summoning them to his residence.

"I'm putting a message on Craigslist" Elijah tells him, "Asking for any and all witches to contact us"

It still bewildered Klaus-who'd spent the majority of his life making deals in secrets and shadows-that his brother could in all confidence place a supernatural request on a public website and achieved the desired outcome. However it worked and was the primary means of communicating with the eldest Original so he wasn't about to complain.

"Tell them that if they do this for us I'll grant them and their family one hundred years protection" Klaus announces and the two other occupants look at him in surprise,

"The woman I love is mourning the death of her best friend and in a small town with an immortal being who frightens even _us_. If they have any family that we exiled overseas, we'll bring them home as well"

"Wish I'd known Caroline was the key to getting an immunity deal out of you" Katherine muttered, receiving matching expressions of incredulity and annoyance from the two brothers, _"What?!"_

She wanders out of the room just as the first of Klaus henchmen begin to arrive, he starts firing off instructions and ignores the curious glances they keep throwing at his sleeping son. Erik was fast becoming the worst kept secret in New Orleans, fortunately whilst people had quickly realised that he was Hayley's son, they had yet to believe that Klaus was capable of fathering children.

"Thomas!" Klaus snaps when he sees one of his lackeys trying to subtly pull his phone from his pocket for the purpose of taking a picture of his child. All too often people assumed that Original meant 'Complete inability to understand modern technology'.

However unlike a lot of vampires, Klaus moved with the times. He'd been forced to as a means of staying ahead of his father, besides he's seen the evolution of technology, he understood the basics a lot better than the children today who didn't realise that broken watches could easily be fixed.

"I want you to pick the strongest vampires in the city and lead them to Richmond, you shall stay there until you hear from me, Elijah, Katerina or from Caroline Forbes"

Thomas nods, "Okay…Caroline who?"

"She'll be the perky blonde with your phone number" Katherine explains as she breezes past,

"I have one witch down" she exclaims triumphantly, "But she's in Portugal so we'll have to book her a flight"

"I have a witch in Argentina, one in Mexico, two in Canada and three in Salem" Elijah announces,

"Marcus…we're going to need a map"

By the time Klaus picks up his phone to ring Caroline back, the kitchen island is covered with map decorated with red and black lines listing the witches' location and the numerous flight paths Elijah has to get local vampires to compel the authorities and alter. Yet considering they had less than an hour, they have achieved more than they thought they would.

"We should offer accommodation for their loved ones" Elijah suggests as a final measure, "Refuge for those they want to get out of town"

Niklaus nodded, "Make it a hotel on Bourbon Street, Katerina ring one and book a floor"

Katherine laughed, "A floor?! Klaus the remaining family members in Mystic Falls wouldn't even fill a double suite"

He looked up, "Really, Katerina- you chose _tonight_ to begin sassing me?"

She swallowed nervously, "Booking a floor"

He finds the number and heads outside onto the veranda before bracing himself and jumping to land neatly on the roof, it's a precaution but he suspects Elijah will be ensuring that his conversation isn't overheard by any of the occupants in his house.

Although the mere fact that he just moved mountains, or at least the restrictions preventing airplanes from flying low over them, will probably have vampires all over the city wondering exactly who the hell Caroline Forbes is.

The phone rings twice before it's answered,

"Hello?"

Klaus frowns, "Matthew? Why do you have Caroline's phone?"

"Uh…I don't…this is my phone, Caroline just rang you on it"

Klaus had been expecting Caroline's voice and part of him had deeply needed to hear her voice, to offer her more comfort and know that the beautiful light inside her hadn't died completely.

"And when I told her that I'd call her back in an hour you didn't choose to let her keep it?"

"Look man" Matt snaps, obviously defensive and raising Klaus' ire, "It's my phone she handed it back to me out of sheer habit"

"Again, you didn't choose to let her keep it and save yourself the trouble of carrying the phone back to her side?"

"Because I didn't think to tell her to keep it…we're in the same damn house it has taken me thirty seconds _tops_ to reach her"

"Thirty seconds that could have been avoided had you merely possessed the forethought to leave the phone with her?"

"Well you know what?" Matt snaps "_Fuck you_, you uptight _bastard_…yeah you heard me"

When the phone finally does reach Caroline, Klaus can hear the amusement in her voice. She explains away Matthew's outburst as grief and considering that his own family could probably win awards for overreactions in this particular area he decides to let it go.

Besides Rebekah would be furious if he harmed her little boy toy, although at least then she might finally present herself in New Orleans.

"So" Caroline begins, the hope in her voice tearing at his heart, "Are you…?"

"I've called in favours from every corner of this landmass love" he interrupts quickly "I have thirteen witches of every school packing their bags for Mystic Falls and Elijah is singlehandedly reorganising the airspace laws of several countries, including our own to ensure that these witches have planes waiting to take them straight to Virginia. There are buses waiting for them at the airport. I have told them they are to answer to you and obey your orders as if they were mine. With that much power and knowledge there must be a way to lower the Veil for Bonnie and keep her on this side. I also have several vampires who are currently on standby if you wish for their backup with the Silas debacle and several more in case these ones are to die. I have a car being sent to the Boarding house and an entire floor of hotel rooms available in New Orleans if you wish to send human loved ones to safety. They will be under twenty-four hour protection"

In the space of an hour Klaus has given her an entire court of servants to help her coven avoid war and an army in the off-chance that the war is unavoidable. He's proud of managing to achieve this but all she hears in his words is his rejection,

"You aren't coming are you?"

Oh if only he could.

"Caroline my love…if I could leave New Orleans I would be by your side before sun-up, I would run to you if I had to…but I can't"

"Are you saying my love isn't worth a kingdom?" she teases, obviously trying to hide her pain at his rejection in humour.

"If it was only my kingdom that I was giving up I would do so in a heartbeat"

He wants to tell her about Erik. He wants to explain that he has a son and as much as he loves her, as much as he loves the sun for shining on her golden hair, the wind for kissing her skin and the grass for tickling her toes he can't risk Silas threatening his vulnerable baby boy.

But he can't find the words to confess that he was unfaithful to her. That when he was offering her his heart he was seeking consolation from her rejection in the arms of the she-wolf whore she feared was seducing Tyler.

There's a dark irony to this situation and it's cumulated in his mere months old dark haired son and his increasingly absent and useless mother.

She ends his silence and growing secrets by thanking him, thanking him for taking her call, for helping her and for not giving up on her.

He takes offense to that last statement.

"I told you that I would be your last love, however long it takes…do you really think so little of me as to assume I'd give up after only five months?"

Her silence is the answer to that question.

Tyler Lockwood and every ex-boyfriend Caroline has deserves to burn in agony for making her think that she's not worth waiting an eternity for.

* * *

Fortunately the call ends before he once again hands her his heart for her to juggle awkwardly and reject with minimal tact and he re-enters his house to find that his men are gone and his brother has a petulant doppelganger pressed against the wall, his mouth against her ear as he lectures her about his distaste for schadenfreude. She's pursing her lips and avoiding his eyes, which Klaus knows will only make his brother angrier, he lingers and sees Elijah grab Katherine's chin and force her to look at him, his voice drops and his words become sharper but when he releases her chin in a move that pushes her head back he pulls her to him in and catches her lips in a bruising kiss.

Allowing them a moment of privacy, Klaus moves back into the living area and picks up his son, settling them both on the couch,

"_Go to bed Katerina…I shall join you shortly"_

Elijah rounds the corner and looks at the mess of maps, electronic devices and sheets of paper they managed to accrue in such a short amount of time. Clearly deciding to leave it for morning, he pours himself a drink and joins his brother on the couch, stroking Erik's head as he passes.

"Tell me brother" Klaus begins, breaking the easy silence between them but making sure to layer enough curiosity into his voice that he doesn't cause a complete rift in their relationship,

"Is it still love even when she's compelled?"

Elijah bristled, "I didn't compel her to love me" he explained, his voice going cold at the accusation, "I simply compelled her not to betray or run from me, she has free will in every other aspect of her life"

"Doesn't that display a lack of trust?" he asks quietly, wondering why he'd never thought to compel Caroline at any point. Although every vampire in Mystic Falls whose last name wasn't Mikaelson had been on a steady vervein tea diet from the moment he'd strolled back into town.

"I love Katerina unconditionally but love and trust don't always go hand in hand"

"Speaking of trust" Elijah continues, "We're going to have to find out what Hayley is up to. Katerina and I went out to dinner tonight and didn't think to check on her or Erik when we got home, she could have quite easily left him here alone"

The thought of his son abandoned and vulnerable makes Niklaus' eyes glow golden with rage and his fangs tickle his gums, he holds him closer and strokes his back,

"Tomorrow brother"

"We shall also have to discuss what our plan will be if Silas kills the Mystic Falls coven and then comes to New Orleans to seek revenge"

Klaus grips his son tighter to his chest, "Camille and Katerina will take Erik and go into hiding while I find a way to desiccate Silas and subject him to another two thousand years without the woman he loves. However Silas wants to die and cross over and we've just sent the strongest contingency of witches ever to Mystic Falls who will be more than glad to help him achieve this end, he has no reason to leave Virginia"

Elijah sighed, "You don't give a damn about Bonnie Bennett being trapped on the Other Side do you little brother?"

Niklaus shrugged, "I care about anything that upsets my sweet Caroline, but I shan't see myself weeping a single tear over that witches demise"

With that Elijah bid him goodnight and went upstairs to his lover, Klaus followed shortly after, sliding into his own king size bed and letting his paranoia overwhelm him enough to lay his son in the bed next to him.

* * *

The two brothers and Katerina were all sound asleep when dawn broke in the sky and Hayley tiptoed into the house to find the maps and papers scattered on the table. Growing pale she rushed back outside and cluttered down the stairs, running to the nearby park and making sure she was out of vampire hearing range before pulling out her phone and making the call.

"Tyler" she breathed when he answered.

"Ty…you were right…I think he is planning on returning to Mystic Falls"

* * *

A/N- So please tell me what you think, every review whether positive or negative directly influences the shape and feel of my next chapter- which admittedly says a lot more about me than it should.

Love you all. Cannot wait for Vampire Diaries and the Originals next week!


	15. Chapter 15

A/N- So I'm kind of changing up my regular writing style in the first part below, it was the easiest way to bridge the plot after I spent two weeks trying and failing to write an entire Hayley chapter because apparently I suck at those.  
Also after seeing the Originals episode I realised I'd forgotten how strong and kickass Hayley can be and now I feel bad, especially when I see how sweet and caring Elijah is to her.  
Although seriously at some point Elijah and Klaus are going to have to have romantic relationships with brunette women that don't dissolve into love triangles.  
Sharing isn't always caring.

A/NN- So if the negative reviews/death threats I've received are any indication, I need to explain Klaus' one night stand in the last chapter. Originally I had written a blonde female vampire as his bed mate but I figured that in choosing a lover so close to Caroline's description he was displaying an unhealthy obsession with her. So I wrote a one time character who at the most will get one speaking line if I choose to write a sequel. Yes that character was a man but when Stefan was rummaging through Klaus' possessions in the VD Christmas episode and found the love letters Klaus had kept over the years, the first one visible was signed by Alfonso, suggesting that Klaus has had male lovers before. I simply threw in this character because there is no way Klaus would or should remain celibate while waiting for Caroline but in his own way by picking people who are completely different from Caroline he is in his own way remaining faithful to her.  
By the way- those that told me I was going to hell for writing a bisexual character? Please stay tuned for my Kol/Jeremy love story where there will be at least two bisexual characters and an M rating.

Author out.

* * *

Email 1

_Hayley, _

_I know we haven't spoken since that night but I just got back to Mystic Falls and…I guess I just want to know that you're okay, that you're safe wherever you are. Nobody seems to have seen you since that night and I'm just staring at my phone hoping you still check your email and that you're alive and able to send me a phone number (I ditched my old cell and have no numbers : '( ) so I can call you and talk to you. _

_Tyler. _

_P.S- Your favourite jacket is still at my place.  
_

Response to Email 1

_Tyler, _

_Thank God you're okay I have been worrying for months now! __I'm okay__…__well kind of okay__…well I'm alive. It has been a long year, I have had some massive life changes. I'm in Louisiana now trying to find my birth parents or my pack but nobody is talking to me __because._

_Listen my cell number is - - -, and you can call me on that any time- day or night- _

_I am so glad you emailed!_

_Hayley_

Phone Call 1.

_Hayley: "Tyler? Hi!"_

_Tyler: "Hi Hales. Wow it is so good to hear your voice"_

_Hayley: "Ty I am so sorry about…"_

_Tyler: "Hayley, I know what it's like to be manipulated into doing bad stuff in the name of family. Nothing can change that…but are you okay? Professor Shane is _  
_dead right, so you are safe?"_

_Hayley: "Ummm…safe and okay yeah but remember how I said some massive life changes?"_

_(Sound of baby crying is audible in the background)_

_Tyler: "Wow…uh…you're not babysitting right now are you?"_

_Hayley: "Ha, I wish…hang on a sec!"_

_(Muffled) Hayley: "Elijah can you please grab Erik for me?"_

_Another voice, later identified as Katerina Petrova, "Elijah's not home!"_

_Hayley: "Can you grab him then?"_

_Voice: "Are you insane? I will shave my head before I willingly touch the spawn of Satan"_

_Hayley: "Katherine will you please stop being a bitch and just…"_

_Second voice, later identified as Elijah Mikaelson, "Hayley…shall I see to Erik?"_

_Hayley: "Katherine said you were out?!"_

_Second voice: "I have just arrived home"_

_Hayley: "Kay thanks"_

_(The conversations is once again clear and distinct)_

_Tyler: "Hales…what's going on? Did you have a baby?"_

_Hayley: "Ty…you're gonna wanna sit down for this"_

"Show me the next one"

Email 2

_Hales. _

_So um after a drink- or eighteen, I don't know it's a bit of a blur- I did some thinking, I don't blame you for falling pregnant, how could you have foreseen that  
happening? Nobody could have it doesn't even make sense! Klaus has been dead for centuries, I don't even know how vampires have sperm ffs! _  
_  
But it's not your fault because I think you may have been manipulated. Think about it, Klaus spends months chasing after Caroline and sleeping with other vampires and we've never heard about him sleeping with a werewolf before he gets you drunk and takes advantage of you?...How do we know that you weren't some sort of experiment for him? _  
_  
Also I've been talking to Damon Salvatore- you know the vampire? I'm not sure you two have met- and he told me that Klaus and Elijah sent some of their vampires to Mystic Falls and told them to open up their old house. I think they're coming back to town but Hales you and your baby CANNOT come with them. Seriously, Silas is still here and he is an invincible maniac who has been tormenting my friends and I for months now…he's dangerous and he killed Bonnie. Klaus might be able to help us but I'm worried that him coming here will put you and Erik in danger!" _

Response to Email 2

_Ty, _

_I just left you a phone message. I came home tonight and there was maps and plane tickets all over the kitchen counter, I think you're right, Klaus and Elijah are planning on heading back to Mystic Falls. I don't know what they have planned because they're all asleep but Klaus is obsessed with Erik and told me one time that he would never go anywhere without him. Ty, if Klaus goes back he will take my baby with him and get him killed! I have to talk to him. _

Phone Call 3

_Tyler: "Hayley, I just got your message…are you insane? If you confront Klaus he'll kill you"_

_Hayley: "No he won't, he'd never hurt me, not physically anyway…I'm Erik's mother…he's still on breast milk and at the very least Klaus would wait until he's weaned to kill me"_

_Tyler: "You think this is a joke? Hales if Klaus brings Erik to mystic Falls you will never see either of them again…or any of us for that matter, because if Klaus dies, we all die!"_

_Hayley: "What am I supposed to do Ty? I'm scared okay…I can't look after Erik by myself…I don't have anywhere to go…Klaus owns New Orleans…there isn't a person here who wouldn't sell me out in a heartbeat to gain favour with him…all I have is you!"_

_Tyler: "Listen to me, I'm never going to let anything hurt you okay…I've been talking to a pack just outside Lynchburg, they used to live in Louisiana and when I told them about your birthmark they were really excited…Baby I think you're from they're pack…I'm coming to New Orleans okay…I'm going to protect you and your son"_

_Hayley: "Ty…thanks"_

_Tyler: "Hey…what are best friends for right?"  
_

* * *

Katherine Pierce stood over Georgi Markov's shoulder and read the transcripts he's been collecting over the last two months. When she reached the final one she gripped the back of his chair so hard her knuckles turned white,

"Govno*" she swore, slapping her hand on the wood and turning away, "Govno, govno, govno"

She sighs and runs her hands through her hair before pulling her phone from her pocket and hitting the speed dial.

He knows he shouldn't listen in but she's making no effort to prevent him from eavesdropping,

"_Katerina" _

"Elijah, I think I know what's happened…"

"_Have you found Hayley?" _

"No but I know who she's gone to see"

"_Who?" _

"Tyler Lockwood, Caroline's ex-boyfriend, the one Hayley had a crush on and has been secretly talking to for months, Elijah….Klaus killed his mother"

"_So he's out for revenge"_

"I think he plans to kill Erik"

* * *

Klaus had shut down the French Quarter. Nobody was getting in and nobody was getting out. Tourists were sent away with tales of gas leaks, oil spills and roaming wild animals.

The inhabitants, well the supernatural ones, were roaming the streets and shops, restaurants and hotels, stopping and questioning anyone who fitted Hayley's description.

He is outside Café du Monde speaking to the local police force, trying to decide whether or not to make his missing child a matter for federal investigation.

Hayley had been missing for six hours now, considering Erik was with his mother he wasn't technically abducted and the local police might be in his pocket or compelled but tricking the federal police into hunting for his son would be near impossible. Not to mention that to do so Klaus would have to provide them with evidence of his citizenship and or existence.

He hadn't updated his birth certificate since the Cold War and his passport had been issued twenty years before that.

Where the hell was his son?!

His arms ached with longing to hold him in his arms, or at the very least to see him cradled in Elijah's. Erik had the most expressive eyes, they lit up with happiness every time he saw a family member or friend he recognised. His tiny little brow would furrow in confusion whenever he saw Katerina and reached for her only to be swept up into Elijah's arms instead.

Katerina was terrified to hold his child lest she drop or harm him in some way and thus forfeit her life. But if Erik was nestled atop a mountain of pillows and blankets on his nursery floor she would agree to sit with Elijah and let his son tug her hair.

His son was so unlike his father. So loving and trusting, having never known pain and unaware that there was such a cruel sensation in the callous world.

Niklaus was all too aware.

And right now his son was out in that world somewhere, possibly cold or hurt, certainly confused, wondering where his father or uncle was. He could be in pain and screaming for his family to save him and Klaus couldn't…

He hears his name called and looks up to see Camille running towards him, still wearing her apron and her bag swinging in her hand,

"Oh my God I just heard" she explained as she crashed right into him, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him for all it was worth,

"I was halfway to your house but someone told me you were here"

"It's the last place Hayley was seen" he tells her, unable to clarify that he had been hoping- foolishly- to catch a familiar scent.

Camille is pale with fright for her friends and she takes his hands, clasping them tightly,

"We're going to find them okay? I'm sure they're fine and this is all a huge misunderstanding…Hayley is probably at a cinema or something and her phone is switched off"

Unlikely. Hayley never took Erik with her when she went to the cinemas. She was always worried he would start crying and she'd be kicked out of the theatre.

He should have known.

This morning when Hayley had popped her head into his bedroom and told him that she was taking Erik for a stroll in his new pram he should have realised something was wrong.

Hayley hated being left alone with their son, she said she never knew how to care for him and when Elijah tried to reassure her that he and Niklaus were almost equally clueless she would snap and point out that they'd had siblings and centuries of living while she had no-one and was only nineteen years old.

He should have known something was wrong.

He senses his big brother before he spots him moving through the street, his hand behind him as Katerina struggles to keep up with his supernatural speed. He's drawing attention but at the moment Klaus could care less if there was a blood frenzy in the middle of the Quarter. His son is missing.

"Little brother" Elijah clasps his hands on his elbows and literally drags him a foot closer to him, Camille is clearly stunned that the elder brother is capable of lifting that much weight but nobody is going to maintain the presence of normality at this moment. Klaus looks up at his brother desperately, blue eyes staring intently into brown ones seeking the comfort and protection that can only be given by an elder sibling to a younger.

"Tell me you have something"

Elijah nods and Katerina comes forward, handing him a file before trying to subtly duck behind her lover, using him as a protective shield to prolong her life.

Klaus stared at sheets of paper, reading the words and understanding the English but not comprehending the outcome.

"Hayley was speaking to Tyler?"

Katerina nods, "She'd been behaving so secretive lately that I had an old friend put a tap on her phone and hack her email…"

Camille's eyes were bugging out of her head, "You did what? Isn't that like totally illegal?!"

They ignored her. Elijah and Katerina were focused on Niklaus as he stumbled to the café railing and gripped it for support.

"He has my son doesn't he?"

Elijah cleared his throat, "It is the most likely scenario"

His son.

His beloved child with his small hands that had always gripped his fingers so tightly, who loved to hold his father's paintbrushes and bang them against hard surfaces just to hear the sound.

A groan ripped from his throat and the tore the railing in his hands from the ground and threw it across the square.

"He'll drown him!"

Klaus couldn't breathe, Elijah held him in an attempt to comfort and restrain him from tearing the city to shreds in his agony "He'll drown him in the Mystic Falls fountain or rip his tiny heart from his fragile chest!"

"Breathe my little brother" Elijah orders him, "There is still hope, if Tyler Lockwood has your son he shan't wish to kill him without making you suffer first, this means that there is still time"

"We should call Elena" Katerina announces stepping forward, "As much as she hates ninety percent of your family she would never stand by and let one of her friends harm an innocent baby"

"Wait" Klaus shakes his brother off and stands up, "We should go to Mystic Falls I have an army there and you are right Katerina…the coven might be of use to us"

And if not, Klaus would surrender himself to Tyler. He would go to Caroline and tell her to offer his life in exchange for Erik's, she would be able to find her boyfriend.

Tyler Lockwood would want Caroline to witness Niklaus' capitulation and humiliation, to once and for all end the argument about which of them was the better man.

And as long as his son was safe, Klaus would not care.

The three vampires vanished into the night, running to the parking garage and throwing themselves into their largest car, speeding to a private airfield just outside of New Orleans and stealing a small plane.

Meanwhile the entirely forgotten witness Camille stepped over the broken railing at sat down in one of the café chairs. She rested her chin on her hand and struggled to come to terms with everything she had just seen and heard.

A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it away.

She hoped little Erik would be okay.

* * *

"We need a plan" Katherine points out as they duck and weave through the surprisingly crowded airport, this is the first words spoken by the trio since Bourbon Street and Klaus sees Elijah throw her a warning glance but she stands her ground,

"Seriously we cannot just show up without a plan, not with Tyler Lockwood holding all the cards"

"Get my son back, kill anyone who gets in the way" Klaus mutters, feeling dread curdle in his stomach as they step into the cool night air and seek out the parking lot for a car to steal.

Katherine sighs, "Need I remind you that every time an Original has attacked the Mystic Falls gang without a plan they've either been desiccated, daggered or straight up staked?"

Elijah finds them a car with a full tank and covers Katherine whilst she breaks in and hotwires the engine.

"You are right" Klaus concedes as they drive to Mystic Falls several miles above every speed limit, Katherine smirks

"Say that again, I want to record that for my ringtone"

"Elijah will head to the Salvatore Boarding House to see if they are aware of Tyler's doings, you shall look for Lockwood and convince him of your enmity for Elijah and I, I shall go to Caroline's house and see what her mother knows or attempt to convince her to help me find Erik"

"Brother when you speak of 'attempting to convince' dear Caroline…" Elijah trailed off waiting for him to confirm that he meant the woman he loved no harm.

In truth Niklaus was afraid to ask himself what should happen if he ever had to choose between Caroline's life and the life of his son.

Because in his heart he knew that the two primary aspects of his being- father and warrior- fought each other daily but that one was almost always victorious.

Now before anything else, he was a father.

* * *

Niklaus catches Caroline's scent when they park in the town square. He sends Elijah to the boarding house and Katherine vanishes into the night to scheme and use her self-styled 'Original haters' radar to find Tyler.

He watches them both disappear before pivoting on his heel and following Caroline's scent.

Young American vampires were always easy to hunt. Raised with the routine of showering daily, using a heady mixture of soaps, lotions and perfumes, not to mention fragrant hair products, Niklaus could almost see the glittery scent lingering in the air leaving him a steady path to follow.

He finds her in front of the library, lying on the grass.

She not alone. There's a man lying atop her, moving against her so intimately that Niklaus' heart constricts with jealousy before his brain finishes chewing the scene and he realises why the blonde man who is quite obviously not Tyler Lockwood looks so familiar.

It's supposed to be him.

In any other situation Niklaus would find the opportunity to see his image from an outsiders perspective interesting, as it is, he barrels into Silas and sends him flying long enough for him to pull Caroline to her feet and gather her to him protectively.

She is dazed and he holds her tightly lest she mistake him for Silas and attack him but she rests her forehead on his shoulder and concentrates on her breathing.

Silas comes back up laughing and in the form of Stefan Salvatore. Klaus allows the blood lust that simmers constantly under the surface to rise and flood his eyes with golden light as his fangs itch his gums,

"Too little hair gel mate" he taunts the immortal creature, shifting his hold on Caroline so that he can cover her or push her behind him as needed but Silas only continues to chuckle,

"Oh Klaus…I knew…the very _second_ Tyler breezed back into town I knew that hybrid of yours would do something stupid enough to bring you back. Fortunately, we're in the position to make a deal with one another"

Klaus holds Silas' gaze but allows his eyes to melt back to their normal blue, a retreat appreciated by the monster,

"You see I am well aware of the fact that you threw an impromptu new age festival at the Salvatore Boarding House and you know what…no judgement, the woman you love called you up terrified and you did everything but come running. What you people forget is that I _too_ am a man in love, only the woman I love is temporarily out of my reach"

"And you seek to rectify the situation" Klaus surmises, running a hand through Caroline's curls in an attempt to soothe her. She is listening as intently as he is, her eyes on the immortal Ripper impersonator in front of them,

"I'm sure you can understand the length one will go to be reunited with their loved ones"

The cruel taunt might as well be a white oak stake to the chest because Klaus finds his muscles tensing, his fists clenching and struggles to keep his rage from dancing across his face,

"State you terms and leave" he growls, the wolf within him snapping its jaws as Caroline eases out of his grasp,

"I will help the witches replicate the cure, they will lower the veil to the Other Side, I will finally cross over and be reunited with my Selene, and in return I will tell you where you can find what's left of your darling sister Rebekah"

Rebekah?

She hadn't returned any of his calls since Paris but she avoided him so regularly that when neither he nor Elijah heard anything from her they hadn't considered the possibility that anything abnormal had occurred.

"Is she still alive?" he asks cautiously, afraid of the answer, after all Silas' ability to alter people's perception of reality was powerful enough to trick Klaus into believe that he was dying, if there hadn't been anyone there to distract Rebekah from her fear…

Silas shrugged, "For now, although I suppose she'll be quite furious with the world at large, if I was you I'd just leave her where I placed her…still…I know what a sucker you and Elijah are for family and you are running out of time to save yours, so, do we have a deal?"

Klaus flexed his fingers to retract his claws and took a deep breath, "The thought of your permanent death gladdens my heart Silas and I can only wish you god speed"

The immortal creature grinned and with a cheerful wave, turned his back and meandered off down the street. His casual pace and lowered guard making apparent his lack of fear that Klaus would attack, they both knew that even if he did, one thousand years over your opponent was quite an advantage in a fight.

When he was out of view Klaus sighed and turned to Caroline, she was quivering with adrenaline and had wrapped her arms around herself to try and regain her composure. He shrugged out of his jacket and slipped it around her shoulders as a gesture of comfort, she offers him a small smile of thanks but her eyes are alight with dread and Silas' warning about his lack of time is ringing in his ears as somewhere a clock strikes the hour. Standing at her shoulder, Klaus reaches across the tiny distance between their bodies and cups her face in his hand, tilting her head so he can study the lines of her beautiful face.

How could he have allowed himself to go so long without seeing her?

"Caroline" he whispers her name like a prayer, "Where is Tyler?"

Her eyes shutter closed defensively, she pulls his jacket tighter around her,

"He has your son doesn't he?"

Klaus wished she hadn't had to learn about his son like this. Erik was such a wonder, it wasn't fair that his existence was revealed as if he was a dirty, shameful secret.

His throat closes and he struggles to breathe, "Yes, he has Hayley and my son and I swear if he hurts either…" he forces the words back into his mouth before he destroys the goodwill between them and cements her support for Tyler's actions.

He was her first love, he would always have a piece of her that would drive her to forgive or fight for him, no matter what crimes he committed.

"Caroline" he took her hands and held them in his own, waiting until she met his eyes,

"I beg of you, if it is what he wishes Tyler can cure, torture or kill me as he sees fit but…not my son…_please_…Caroline he is so innocent, he is every good thing I will never be…I _beg_ of you, convince Tyler to spare his life"

She rips her hands from his grip and spins away, pacing a few steps from him and sinking down onto the gutter, hunching over as though in physical pain.

Leaving Klaus to wonder if she has vervain in her system or whether he can compel her to divulge what she knows.

But she didn't portray the usual guilt she had shown every time she had manipulated or flirted with him as a means of distraction.

His phone rings and he allows her momentary reprieve whilst he answers.

Katherine is on the other end and she has a tremor of satisfaction in her voice,

"_Hey_" she begins and he can hear her rustling through papers "_Are the Salvatore Brothers and co. our friends or enemies?"_

Klaus raises an eyebrow, "So far they appear to have been in the dark, why?"

"_I committed breaking and entering to get into the Lockwood manor and when I say breaking and entering I kinda broke Matthew Donovan's bones until he gave me permission to enter_"

Caroline's head snaps up and he can see the outrage in her eyes, but at the moment she is taking a backseat in his investigation.

"Did you find anything?" he asks impatiently,

"_Yes, an evil villain to do list. Tyler found a pack in Lynchburg and google mapped a route from New Orleans to a park located just outside of that creepily named town_"

"Where is Lynchburg?" he asks and Caroline answers, "It's a town about an hour's drive from here"

He isn't surprised that she is aware of that fact but her posture is still defensive, "I used to have the state map printed on the back of my writing books in junior year"

Klaus wasn't fooled, he had seen her transcripts when he first realised he was interested in her. He wondered if any of her friends knew just how high her IQ and SAT scores were.

Highly unlikely considering her primary role during his stay in Mystic Falls had primarily involved low cut tops, high hemmed dresses and diversion tactics that were beneath a woman of her standard.

"Call Elijah" he orders Katherine, "Tell him that I'm leaving for this town in ten minutes and he's either in the car with me or following behind me"

He ends the conversation and refocuses his attention on Caroline who's pulling herself to her feet and watching him warily, "Do you have actual proof that Tyler has Hayley and your son?"

He nods, "Records of phone conversations, emails, along with the map Katerina found. If this were a police investigation I believe that would be enough for an arrest warrant"

"I haven't spoken to Tyler in three days but he's been avoiding me for a week…I've tried calling him but he's either been ignoring me or ditched his cell…"

Then she wasn't going to be of any use to him. If Tyler was going behind her back again that meant that his distrust of her had grown enough that she could only complicate matters further than they had already been.

Damon Salvatore's car roars into the town square and Elijah climbs out with Elena tumbling after him, she gives him a quick hug goodbye as Katherine drives up in a different car from the one they had previously stolen.

"Found a full tank" she announces from the driver's seat and Elijah once again silently claims shotgun.

Klaus leans down and kisses the corner of Caroline's mouth, a situation almost identical to their last kiss.

He was saying farewell the last time as well.

He makes it three steps before he hears her chasing after him,

"Wait," she calls "I'm coming with you"

He doesn't slow down but when they reach the car he blocks her entrance,

"Sweetheart, Tyler's actions over the last few days, including but not _limited_ to the fact that he has convinced a wolf pack to side with him shows that his hatred of me has led him to once again declare war. Now considering that the last two times he has crossed me have resulted in either his pack's decimation or him running for his life, he's either already planned his escape route or confident enough in his abilities that he doesn't expect me to live to see tomorrow. You may be his first love but I am almost certain that his plans for the immediate future do not involve you"

She glares and pushes past him to climb into the back seat, shifting over to make room for him,

"I'm _coming_ with you and I'm going to talk him down before he does something he can't come back from"

Elijah reaches over his seat and grabs the collar of his shirt, hauling him into the car as Katherine turned the ignition and began driving fast enough that when she u-turned Klaus' door slammed shut.

Klaus scowls at his brother as they sped past Damon and Elena and twists in his seat to resume his argument with Caroline but she's already buckling her seat belt,

"I know Klaus okay!" she snaps, clearly distressed but with determination written in her very features,

"I know Tyler probably doesn't want to listen to reason right now, I know his anger towards you is clouding his judgement, I know all these things but I still owe it to him to try"

"Listen to her brother" Elijah advises as they approach the town's exit signs,

"If nothing else she can be leverage for Erik and Hayley's return"

Caroline pales at that comment and shrinks back against her window when nobody else in the car protests against Elijah's comment, but when Klaus rests his hand in the space between them, she deliberately lets her own fall so that the sides of their hands touch.

* * *

"You know" Katherine drawls when they arrive in Lynchburg and double check the map Tyler left in his office,

"As an experienced hostage taker myself, I have a pretty low opinion of baby Lockwood's methods"

"Explain yourself Katerina" Elijah sighs, resting his head in his hand and gesturing for her to turn right,

"Well, it was a good move on Tyler's part to manipulate Hayley into willingly leaving New Orleans with him but after that his plan just got sloppy…he left absolutely _no clue_ for any of us to find. If I hadn't been worried enough about Hayley to have her spied on, we would never have known who she was with and we only know where to go now because he left evidence in a house that I was only able to break into because Elena's ex confused me for her long enough to be lured out of said house"

"Oh my God Matt!" Caroline cried when she realised she had forgotten about her injured friend, "Katherine, what did you…?"

"_Chill_" Katherine sighed, looking both ways before running a red light, "Before I left I stuck him on the couch and called an ambulance, I passed it on the way to back to you guys, he'll be fine…most of the bones were in his left leg anyway…he wasn't still playing football right?"

Caroline lunged forward and Klaus had to wrap his arms around her waist to keep her from snapping the doppelgangers neck,

"She's still driving the car sweetheart and we're right alongside a river"

He drags her back into the seat and glimpses her predatory face, her darkened eyes, protruding veins and the fangs shining in her mouth. He presses her against him and were this any other situation he would be kissing her and pressing his luck to see how far she would let him go.

Instead he settles for shaking her slightly and allowing his own eyes to transform to remind her who the alpha was.

The predator in her retreated and he loosened his hold on her, she slides off his lap and holds out her hand, "Give me your phone, I know Tyler's number"

He slips it into her palm and she types the number, taking a shaky breath when she is done,

"Should I be the one to speak to him or…?"

"I shall do it" Elijah announced, "Tyler and I never confronted one another, I've threatened and betrayed him the least amount of times out of our family circle"

"No," Klaus slid his thumb against the screen, "Best if he thinks I'm arrogant enough to have come alone"

As it rang he blinked and switched personas to once again become the heinous monster that plagued witches bedtime stories.

"Wondered when you'd call" Tyler's cocky voice filled the interior of the car and Caroline flinched,

"Hello mate" Klaus greeted playfully, "Sorry to interrupt what I'm sure must be a thrilling weekday night in Mystic Falls but I believe you have some property of mine that I should very much like back…"

Tyler scoffs, "_Save it_ Klaus, Hayley already told us what a loving father you are and I've had a witch tracking Katherine Pierce for the last two days"

Katherine's head shot up in indignant fury and Elijah hurriedly placed a finger over her mouth, she glared at him and rolled her eyes,

"Well aren't you a clever werewolf" Klaus replied, "I assume then if you know where we are you'll be able to give us directions to wherever it is you wish for us to end up?"

"On one side of the John Lynch Memorial Bridge you'll see a huge industrial yard, you walk towards the dam you'll see an small island connected to the mainland, you leave your siblings and Katherine in the car and _maybe_ when you get here we'll allow you to see your son"

There was bile rising in his throat but if Tyler was referring to his son in the present tense then there was a good chance he was still alive.

"Very well then"

Klaus ended the call and stared out the window as Katherine followed Tyler's navigations, finding the yard with ease and driving as far in as she could.

"So" she began when she brought the car to a stop and flicked the child-lock so nobody could exit, "What's the plan?"

"I'm going with Klaus" Caroline spoke before anyone could object, "I have to see Tyler"

"Tyler specifically told Klaus to come alone" Elijah pointed out, but Caroline shakes her head,

"No he said to leave his _siblings_ and Katherine in the car. He thinks Rebekah is here and technically he didn't say come alone"

"I vote sneak attack" Katherine injects, "I found some guns and vervain grenades Tyler obviously forgot to pack. I say Elijah, Klaus and I get up real close, grab Erik and Hayley and then startle them with the grenades, blow their brains out and mount what's left of their heads on our wall"

"Tyler's not an idiot" Caroline argues, "He'll be prepared for that and if they've been tracking you that means they must have a witch doing a location spell, they'll sense you approaching…"

"And if the witch sees a blonde vampire approaching she'll tell Tyler that Rebekah is coming and then we'll have to worry about the wolves panicking and…"

"Neither of you should be going" Elijah snapped, "Katherine nobody knows exactly _what_ you are and Caroline you're two years old and for you werewolf venom is fatal, I have centuries on both of you and I'm an exceptionally skilled fighter…"

"_Enough!_" Klaus shouted over the din causing them all to stop and look at him, "Katherine you're staying in the car, Elijah you're staying with her in case they decide to kidnap her as well. Caroline is coming with me because out of all of us she might be of some use dealing with Tyler"

He climbed out of the car and went to slam the door only to find Caroline sliding out after him, she readjusted her dress and looked around at the large storage buildings, "That way right?" she asked, pointing to the sounds of running water. He nodded and set off at a quick pace, ignoring his elder brother when he called him back forlornly.

* * *

A/N- Govno- Bulgarian swear word (Shit)


	16. Chapter 16

A/N- Hey guys, so...this chapter is about ten thousand words long so, sorry about that.

And Original Sin was a great episode although when the Silas flashback began I had to pause and spend three minutes laughing, perhaps because it felt ridiculous or perhaps because I can no longer cope with the image of Paul without gel in his hair...I don't know, what I do know is that Qetsiyah is still a raging bitch- yeah hun you got left at the altar for your handmaiden/bestie but you know what, your ex moved out of the house, into a crummy tent in the wilderness and then you ripped Amara's heart out and sprayed Silas' love pad with her blood revenge done! Putting the entire world at risk by trapping Silas for two thousand years and essentially destroying whatever notion of right and wrong he once held was maybe going too damn far.  
And if she's been watching over the Petrova doppelgangers for the entire time, could that have something to do with the fact that the three doppelgangers we know of have all died tragic deaths and lost their entire families? (Tatia was killed by Esther and Klaus slaughtered the entire village so presumably killed her family also)

Also after re-reading my caffeine fuelled chapter from last week I am now in the market for a proof-reader/muse/spirit animal. Seriously I butchered the last chapter and I now need someone to read over my chapters before I post them, advise me and give me feedback for new stories. Internship is paid only with love.

PS. I am jazzed beyond belief by all the followers- thank-you!

Warning: This chapter gets dark

* * *

Caroline matched his stride and followed him between the giant metal buildings that cast dark shadows on a night where the moon doesn't even grace the sky and the stars hide their light, unwilling to see what the evening held in store for the Hybrid.

He can see the running river in the distance and there's a tell-tale whiff of smoke in the air. Tyler was smart to choose this location, far enough away from the residential area and covered with enough forest that nobody would see or hear anything.

When they break free from the world of metal and sinister shadows, approaching the natural path that connected the river island to the mainland Caroline inched closer to him, her shoulder brushing against his, offering small comfort to a man who knew he was walking towards an uncertain fate.

"Why did you bring me and not Elijah?" she asks curiously, following him on the small dirt path, stepping over the metal chain and no entry sign that is pathetic in its attempt to curtail intruders.

"Because if Erik survives tonight he'll need family to raise him. Elijah loves my son more than he's ever loved anything in this world and if by some stroke of luck Tyler manages to destroy both of us, Katerina will take Erik and go into hiding. She lost one child many lifetimes ago but it'll be a point of pride for her not to lose another"

"And me?" she asks, "Why did you let me come with you?"

He wants to end the conversation and race ahead, his son is so close to him now and he's eager to lay eyes on him, to assure himself that he's still alive.

But this may be the last time he's with Caroline. The last time he ever gets to speak to her, to see the beautiful light that shines from her crystal blue orbs and sees the possibility for humanity when everyone else had long given up hope.

"You were right Caroline, you may be the best chance of talking Tyler down and even if you aren't…" he shrugs nervously and steps forward, hesitating before remembering that this is likely his last opportunity, so he cups her face his hands and strokes her soft cheeks with his thumbs  
"I'm selfish…I didn't want to take this walk alone, I wanted somebody I loved to be here with me"

She doesn't gasp with shock or step back in horror at his confession, he's broadcast his feelings for her verbally and physically up and down the east coast. He would have taken out a billboard with flashing lights if he hadn't feared that she'd burn it to the ground and go to prison for arson.

But her reaction is still amazing because colour dances across her cheeks and despite the horror of the situation, her lips curve upwards in the smallest of smiles.

Niklaus burns that image into his memory, to strengthen him for whatever happens next.

They resume their trek and the smell of smoke grows stronger, with it carries the sound of voices, multiple voices shifting on the gentle wind.

He reaches the final barrier, the final step before he'll become visible to his enemies. Caroline's hand ghosts over his back and he strides forward into the metaphorical lion's den.

There are seven people situated in a small clearing around a roaring bonfire, laughing and drinking beer. Five men and two women, all mid-twenties with no alpha discernable to his experienced eye. Cheap clothes and cheaper haircuts, if it had been only one hundred years prior he would have called them peasants.

And idiots for allowing themselves to be inebriated when they had known they would be dealing with an Original.

His appearance causes a stir, the easy nature of the scene is replaced by tension and he moves towards the bonfire, feeling their wary gazes on him. A woman makes her way from the shadows and steps in his path, her tattoos and the way the air hangs around her announcing her as the witch.

Niklaus offers her his trademark smile, "Good evening, I'm looking for Tyler Lockwood, he's expecting me"

The witch once had bright red hair which she has tried to maintain with dye, her skin is leathery from too much sun and her clothes are far too young for her. She crosses her arms and glares at him before shifting her disgusted gaze over his shoulder,

"You were told not to bring your sister, the Original Vampire Rebekah Mikaelson" she scolded and he clasped his hands behind his back to control his temper.

To be lectured by an amateur witch, one not even experienced enough in the supernatural world to know how to speak to or refer to an Original.

He bloody well knew who his sister was, people only ever used their full title the first time they were introduced to his family but when speaking of one family member to another the title was redundant. He didn't exactly know enough Rebekah's, Elijah's, Finn's or Kol's for him to get confused when their names were brought up in conversation.

Still he held his smile, "This isn't Bekah" he informs the witch, "This is a friend of Tyler Lockwood's, she requested that she come along tonight"

"It's okay Shawna" the familiar voice bellows from a cluster of trees on the other side of the small clearing, "She's with me"

When Tyler Lockwood steps into the light Niklaus' eyes run over him quickly and he feels an ache in his chest when he sees that his son isn't with him. Still he steps forward and Caroline matches him, clearly determined to stay close even as her boyfriend swaggers over and ignores Klaus in favour of grabbing her around the waist and kissing her loudly and inappropriately on the mouth.

Klaus doesn't look over his shoulder to witness the spectacle, although he knows that it is largely for his benefit, he can hear the rustling of their clothes as their bodies rub against one another and the cat calls from the werewolves give him a proper idea of the lewdness of the display.  
There's a gasp as Caroline breaks the kiss and a mumbled protest as she tries to break out of his hold,

"Tyler...what are you doing?!"

Klaus can practically taste his smugness, "I'm kissing you babe…I've _missed_ you"

Flesh smacks against flesh and Caroline inhales as she steps back, "Yeah well there's _missing_ and there's getting arrested for public indecency"

Klaus was taking advantage of Tyler's distraction to walk further into the clearing, searching for signs of his son or Hayley, trying to catch their scent through the smoke of the roaring fire.

A hulking man who appeared to be a few steps behind the rest of humanity in the evolutionary process blocked his path and crossed his arms, glaring down at him.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

The young wolf is trying to use his height and muscles to intimidate him but the simple fact of the matter was that despite being only five ft eleven, Klaus had a confidence and bearing developed over centuries so that people could easily forget that he wasn't the tallest man in the room.

However, he makes sure not to deliberately discomfort and aggravate the man,

"I'm looking for my son," he explains simply, "Tyler told me that once I arrived I could see him"

"I said I might let you see him" Tyler corrects, deliberately knocking into his shoulder as he marches past him with his arm wrapped firmly around Caroline's waist, pinning her against him either unable or unwilling to see the misery in her eyes.

Klaus grits his teeth, "I did as you asked now let me see my son Tyler"

Tyler only smirks, "What about Hayley? Don't you want to see your baby mama?"

The tiniest amount of relief runs through his veins, "She's still alive then?"

Tyler's grin grows wider and he puts his fingers in his mouth, releasing a shrill whistle that makes Caroline and Klaus flinch with the pain to their sensitive ears.

There's a rustling in the bushes and Hailey is tossed to the ground like a bag of trash, coughing and stinking of blood. Her hands are bound and her face is bloodied, her hair is tangled or torn from her head and when she sees Klaus she breaks into tears,

"Klaus…" her voice is strangled by her struggle to breathe, "I just wanted to find my parents and have a real family"

He nods, desperate to comfort the mother of his child. Without even realising he starts moving towards her, unthinkingly shaking off Tyler's restraining hand,

"I know," he promises "I understand"

She sobs and crosses her arms over her body, looking frightened and fragile.

"I'm so sor-"

He had seen that one of the men holding her had been hiding something behind his back, they'd pushed her to her knees and as messy as her hair was, they'd cut enough of it to expose her neck.

He's lived long enough to understand what this meant but…

He is still shocked when Hayley's head leaps from her shoulders and rolls in the dirt, nearing the bonfire, he darts forward and picks it up, ignoring the blood that spurts from her neck and drenches his jeans.

She is still talking, her mouth forming words, her eyes looking around bewildered.

"I'll save him" Klaus promises quickly as her eyes rest on him, "I give you my word"

He saw the beheading of three queens and the streets of Paris run red with blood, he knows that there is a small handful of seconds after someone is beheaded when they can still see the world around them.

Just before the last vestiges of blood gush from her neck he swears he sees her eyes alight with comprehension.

Then the light is gone, Hayley is dead and Klaus is left crouching in the dirt with the heat of a roaring fire on his back, the cold air on his face and the knowledge that his enemies surround him on all sides.

He wonders if he should cry, if he should show some emotion and grant the werewolves the satisfaction of seeing him broken. Perhaps doing so would shorten his suffering.

Except that he used to cry and beg for mercy at his father's hands and never once did that save him.

He kisses Hayley's forehead in farewell and stands up, turning back to Tyler and feeling a quick stab of pleasure at the discomfort on his face.

He hadn't ordered her execution, the werewolves had either acted without his authority or completely disobeyed him.

Klaus takes a few steps back towards his captor and forces himself not to glance at Caroline and see how pale and terrified she is, how her eyes are begging for him to run.

He straightens his shoulders, "Well, now that you've given that little display of your strength, perhaps you'll allow me to finally see my son?"

Hearing his voice appears to jolt Tyler back into character, he snarls and turns his eyes yellow, bearing his fangs as a means to intimidate.

Such amateurs.

While he's busy snapping and snarling, the witch comes forward and crosses her arms over her chest,

"How do we know you ain't gonna grab your son and run the moment we let you see him?" she demands, as if she expects him to give his word that he shall remain.

If his escape is that easy he shall have Katherine Pierce kill these people on principle alone. You don't threaten one of the most dangerous creatures in existence, one who is renowned for his brutality and then build a trap reliant on his co-operation with an ability to rescue the bait used to lure him in.

Before his quick wit or sarcasm makes matters worse one of the female werewolves comes forward with thick ropes. "Let's tie his hands so he can't run"

Even Caroline seems to understand that flawed logic but she's wisely staying silent as his hands are pulled behind his back. He winces as his skin starts itching and burning from the contact with the ropes, they smell tangy and bitter and he recognises the scent of vervain mixed with wolfsbane.

They aren't complete idiots after all then.

He's pushed to his knees and his captors all move to better positions for viewing the impending show. Tyler prowls forward, his arm tightly around Caroline's waist, dragging her with him.

"Look babe" he announces proudly, squeezing her waist, "I told you I'd get the bastard one day"

She drops her head for a second before lifting it back up and pressing her mouth to his ear,

"Tyler, we need to talk, we need to figure this out"

He laughs, "There's nothing to figure out babe. We have the Original hybrid on his fucking knees and he's going to have to do whatever we say because we have his son"

"Then _where_ is he?" Caroline asks for both of them, "Where is Erik?"

Tyler teases them both by opening his mouth and appearing to consider answering before snapping it shut and giving her a cheeky grin.

"That part comes later…first, I don't like the shirt Klaus is wearing"

One of the wolves stepped forward and stuck his hand down the back of his neck, grabbing the collar of his t-shirt and ripping it away from his body, leaving scraps of cloth to fall down to his wrists.

Aside from glaring at Tyler, Klaus didn't allow himself any obvious reaction, again after one thousand years of living and more sex and romances than he could remember he had no qualm about being naked before a crowd. Even if that crowd was filled with enemies.

His chest was exposed by the light of the fire, his tattoos glistened as they are wont to do on vampires. The body determined to return to its natural ink-free state and the ink firmly settled in the skin.

"He is handsome though" the witch admitted sighing, as she circled him "Such a shame considering his soul is as black as night"

Actually, he didn't have a soul, not in the entirety which she referred to. When vampires turned their souls were damaged by the transformation, hence the ability to kill for their nourishment with minimal guilt.

Caroline opened her mouth, offended on his behalf but wisely shut it again when she caught Tyler's attention. Klaus could almost see the hamster that was Lockwood's brain turning frantically on the wheel and sought a distraction.

He flashed the witch one of his more charming grins, "Thank-you sweetheart"

"I didn't say you could _talk_!" Tyler snaps angrily lunging forward to backhand him across the cheek.

The blow wasn't enough to knock him over or even have much effect but Klaus allowed his head to turn with the force out of old habits. His captor seemed to pick up on this and laughs,

"Getting flashbacks to when your daddy used to beat you? You _worthless bastard_"

"Tyler" Caroline hisses, shocked that her boyfriend would use that insult. He wasn't the first person in Mystic Falls to call him bastard, Caroline herself used the word frequently but always as a curse word and not intending to reference his illegitimacy.

It wasn't that Klaus hated being a bastard, he simply hated that his tie to his siblings was lessened by his blood. As a child he had worshipped Elijah and believed Rebekah to be his other half and to discover that there was any difference between them had cut him deeply.

But not as deeply as the whip that cracks through the night air and lands upon his back.

Cat o'nine tails.

He grunts as his skin tears and knits again before the second lash of the whip.

The wolves are cheering as the whip beats against his back again and again, tearing at his skin and allowing blood to trail many paths down his back and around his waist to his stomach.

"You see" Tyler announces proudly, raising his arms and addressing his new pack, "I told you that if you followed me that I'd bring you power and look…" he points to Klaus who grunts as the whip lands on his shoulders, "The most powerful being in the world, brought to his _knees_!"

The wolves cheer and his torturer discovers his vigour renewed by the cries, but he is still unsatisfied,

"He keeps healing!" he whines, dropping the cat o'nine tails into the dirt, "No matter how hard I hit him he keeps on healing"

Tyler isn't concerned, he turns to the witch, "You finished with the vervain?"

The witch nods, "It's should be done, Tommy and Stevie come help me"

Reprieved from the whipping, Klaus evens his breathing and waits until his skin has smoothed back into its normal state before raising his eyes to meet Lockwood's,

"Where is my son?"

Klaus is never patient and he's mere seconds away from allowing himself to sink into the psychotic fugue state that was the Original version of the vampire-humanity switch.

If only his son wasn't so vulnerable this small stretch of land would be soaked with blood and he would be halfway back to Mystic Falls with his child in his arms and Caroline in the car either by choice or by force.

Tyler sighs as if this ordeal bores him and but Klaus can see that he's barely disguising his excitement.

"Fine" he allows, "Tami…bring out the brat"

Klaus' eyes do not leave the she-wolf as she struts into the trees and re-emerges five minutes later carrying a bundle on her shoulder. The bundle is squirming, his bare little legs kicking about.

His son.

"_Erik_"

It isn't until he's pushed back down to his knees that Klaus even realises that he was getting to his feet, instinct leading him to his child.

Tami stops a good dozen metres away and pulls the baby into her arms before dropping him a good two feet to the ground, Klaus tenses waiting for his son to cry at the shock or the pain but all he hears is a strangled whimper. Then Erik rolls over and pushes himself into a sitting position and he can see why.

They've _gagged_ his son. They've tied a rag about his mouth to smother his screams.

But they can't stop the tears pouring from his eyes. The confusion is evident on Erik's distraught face, he's spent his short little life being loved and adored, he doesn't understand what cruelty is, why these people causing him pain instead of adoring and cuddling him.

Tyler is talking to him, goading him or taunting him. Klaus isn't sure and he couldn't care less, he's drinking in the sight of his child, his little boy, focusing on the wolves holding him down, trying to figure out how to get to his son.

Suddenly Erik looks up and somehow across the vast distance sees his father, he starts wiggling, stretching out his little arms and struggling to make himself heard past the gag. Once again Klaus finds himself being knocked back to his knees and watching helplessly as his son pushes himself forward and begins crawling on his exposed stomach, determined to reach his father.

Both father and son are so caught up in one another that its Caroline's cursing that breaks the spell.

The she-wolf is strutting past and swinging something in her hand, "Time to put the pup back in its cage"

The wolves cheer and Klaus forces himself to tear his eyes away from his son.

The she-wolf is holding a cat cage in her hand.

"_No!_"

In his movements Erik has somehow managed to loosen his gag so when the she-wolf picks him up and shoves his struggling body into the too small cage his screams echo around the campsite.

"_Erik!_" Klaus calls out to his son, frantic to offer some form of comfort, "Erik…it's alright my boy…Erik, daddy's here"

Tyler bursts out laughing at these words, "Daddy's here" he repeats, tears of humour escaping his eyes,

"Look Caroline…look at how pathetic…"

He can't even finish he's laughing so hard but he's holding Caroline's shoulders and forcing her to look at the Original so Klaus sees the exact moment that she falls in love with him.

Tonight Tyler had shown her the depths of his cruelty and Klaus had shown her his indescribable love for his child.

Tyler greatest moment of triumph has cost him the woman he loves.

But the rest of the pack are cheering again as the witch navigates the large vat of vervain across the clearing. Despite knowing better, Klaus still looks over his shoulder to try and judge how much this is going to hurt so when the wolves trip and spill the boiling liquid onto his body it hits him in the face.

His body shut down after that.

* * *

Klaus' flesh was melting off his bones, dripping and oozing into the dirt around him. Caroline's stomach heaved and she struggled against Tyler's bruising grip, trying to close her eyes and block her senses as his body collapsed under its own weight and fell to the ground, no longer even resembling something human or living. But it was her boyfriend's erection pressed into her back, the evidence of how much he was enjoying the show that pushed her over the edge.

She retched and choked for air, "Tyler…I'm gonna…"

He released her as she vomited, splattering her clothes and the ground and she flashed towards the trees, throwing herself on all fours and emptying her stomach, her throat tearing and unable to breathe as the blood she had drunk spewed from her mouth. The scene is rancid and Tyler gives her space as she sobs and tries to right herself.

She looks so helpless and pathetic that when she sprints across the clearing and grabs Erik's cage before flashing into the forest it takes a second for the wolves to realise that she's gone.

"_Caroline!_"

Tyler hollers her name but she doesn't slow down, she's at the industrial yard in the space of a few seconds and runs straight to where she and Klaus left Katherine and Elijah.

Both of them are standing outside the car, wrapped in each other's arms, their heads snap up when they see her.

"_Go!_" she screams, throwing herself into the backseat and they quickly follow her instructions. The car is tearing out of the yard as the first transformed wolf appears,

"Where is my brother?" Elijah asks frantically, his voice reaching Erik who once again begins screaming. Caroline reaches for the cage but her fingers are burnt on the metal. There's a sound of the seatbelt unbuckling and Elijah climbs into the backseat, ripping the door from the cage and ignoring his singeing flesh as he eases his nephew out of the tiny space.

Erik's wails become even more hysterical and Elijah cuddles him tightly against his chest, stroking his back as the baby clutches him with tiny limbs.

"I know, I know my darling boy"

"I couldn't get Klaus…" Caroline swallows the bile rising in her throat, "They tied his hands and soaked him in so much vervain that he was a skeleton…Elijah I'm…"

"Unless they had a white oak stake he shan't die" he promises over Erik's fearful cries, "And we got Erik out which is what we had hoped for…"

"Is Hayley…?" Katherine begins to ask but falters when she catches Caroline's eye in the rear view mirror,

"They beheaded her" she reveals numbly, "I know Tyler was angry with her but I don't think he intended to kill her…the pack got carried away and he got in too deep and…" her voice trails off, she can't finish her words or her thoughts. She falls back against the seat and stares out the window, tumbling over the edge into an abyss, unseeing and catatonic from the night's events.

She isn't aware that the car has stopped until her door is opened and she can see that the world outside the range rover is no longer moving. A pair of arms reach inside and lift her out and she numbly registers that she is at the manor Klaus built when he arrived in Mystic Falls.

She is carried inside and upstairs, her head is hanging over her carriers arm, giving her an upside down view of the world but she doesn't have the strength to support her own head anymore.

She is placed on a bed and two faces swim before her, a doppelganger and a Salvatore.

The doppelganger holds her face in her hands and speaks to her with words she can't understand.

"Caroline…Stefan and I are going to run you a bath okay?"

Okay.

Nothing in this world shall ever be okay again.

_Nothing_ shall ever be _anything_ again.

She chuckles at the absurdity of her thought and catches the attention of the two strangers who are undressing her and carrying her from one room into another.

Her body is partially submerged in warm water and her head lolls on the edge of the tub while her limbs are lifted one by one and scrubbed before being lowered back beneath the surface. The man leaves the room and re-enters with a bucket, he shifts her head so that its tucked into her chest and her hair trails in the water. He pours the bucket of warm water so that it soaks her blonde tresses and sets about washing her hair.

When they are finished with their ministrations they lift her out and sit her on the toilet seat while they dry her and wrap her hair in a towel.

She is lifted from the seat and tumbles down again when she is a dead weight and slips from her carrier's arms, she disinterestedly notes the sensation of her head hitting the cistern.

She is lifted with more success the second time around and slipped into a dress and tucked into the bed she does not recognise in a room she can't identify. The lights are switched off as the strangers leave the room but she does not accept the cue to sleep, instead she stares at the ceiling they placed in front of her and remembers the screams that were torn from the hybrid's throat as they tortured him.

Klaus.

Niklaus.

He would have disembowelled any being on this earth if they had ever cherished the thought of hurting her like that. He would have presented their hearts to her as a gift and not understood why mere months earlier she would have been disgusted by the thought.

Only now when it is too late does she understand, the wolf in him, the alpha sought to protect her and the man in him had been entranced by her.

In his darkest hour she had fallen in love with him and if nothing else she had saved his son.

She never wants the night to end because she doesn't want to see a world where Klaus isn't striding across continents and existing with a sheer force of will that is a magic in itself.

It's unbearably selfish of her but she doesn't want to live in a world where she isn't beloved by a monster who is willing to change his very nature and forge himself a path out of the darkness in the hope of earning a freely given kiss from her.

The sun can rise all it wants but Caroline is refusing to leave this bed until someone rewrites the very nature of the universe and brings Klaus back whole and smiling.

The bedroom door opens and a stranger comes back in, a doppelganger but in different clothes. She's holding a blanket in her arms and sits on the edge of the bed,

"Caroline…if you can hear me, give me a sign"

What is she supposed to do? Lift her head, wave her arms, smile or pretend the world hasn't ended?

"Okay…well listen…Elijah and I are going back for Klaus'…uh for Klaus and we need someone to watch over baby Erik so…"

Caroline pulls herself into a sitting position so quickly and fluidly Katherine doesn't immediately catch her movement. She reaches out for Erik who has been bathed and wrapped in Elijah's jacket, he's still trembling and his eyes are darting about fearfully but Caroline draws him into her arms and kisses his forehead. He casts an uncertain look back at the familiar face before surrendering fully to her embrace, relaxing as she kisses and cuddles him,

"Hello sweetie" she says, "Try and sleep okay? You've had a long day"

She tucks Elijah's jacket tighter around him and looks over his head to Katherine, "Why not have Elena babysit him?" she asks curiously, "She looks just like you"

Katherine smirks, "Elena's…_busy_ at the moment and seeing as you're the one who saved him, we can trust you to keep him safe"

"And if Tyler…" Caroline swallows the bile that rises in her throat, "If Tyler comes to Mystic Falls?"

Katherine chewed her lip, "We're pretty sure he won't…we reckon he'll have a hard time convincing the pack not to run for the hills and besides…if he does…Stefan and Damon gave their word that they'll roll out of bed and catch him before he gets into the house"

She nods and glances back down at the baby in her lap, "I have no idea what to do" she admits but Katherine is already half-way out of the room,

"Google it" she calls back as a suggestion.

* * *

When Katherine and Elijah left Mystic Falls it was an hour or so from dawn. They had planned to get back to Lynchburg, catch the scent or the trail of the wolf pack and figure out Klaus' rescue from there.

Unfortunately neither of them knew the working hours for blue collar workers.

"Well this is unfortunate" Katherine decided as she pulled the car up to the industrial yard, now filled with labourers, managers, customers and eyewitnesses in general. Beside her Elijah hummed in agreement and rubbed his chin,

"Problematic to say the least…but I would rather reach the island by foot and provide us with a quick escape route rather than try and steal a boat at this early hour"

"And how do you propose we get past those two dozen men?"

Elijah cast a glance at her tight jeans and low cut top, she followed his train of thought,

"Seriously?" she stomped her boot on the car floor, "Elijah I'm good but I'm not _Helen_ of freaking _Troy_, even if _I_ can't distract that many men!"

"Have some faith in your abilities my darling" he grins, "But consider it a plan B"

They climb from the car and begin casually making their way through the workers and customers to the path Niklaus had trod only a handful of hours earlier.

As Elijah had predicted Katherine did catch the attention of many of the men on site but when they made it too far into the yard one of the managers hurried over to stop them,

"Uh excuse me…" he panted, clutching a clipboard to his ample chest and stomach, "Can I help you two?"

Elijah gave him a charming grin designed to set the man at ease, Katherine decided on a flirtatious smile and lustful gaze to distract him,

"I certainly hope so, I'm a community worker and we've received word about criminal activities taking place on that small island over there" he gestured to the wooded area, "We've been told to have a quick look around, see if the area can be made secure"

"Uh…" the manager rubbed his receding hairline, "I don't know I should probably make some calls…"

"Or" Katherine began suggestively, "You could let my co-worker and I could just have a quick look around and then come back and if you're still uncomfortable I'd be happy to linger while you…_make some calls_" she lowers her voice, bites her lip and is truly surprised when the least seductive sentence she's ever used reduces this man to pliant dough in her evil little hands. He pulls up his belt and tells them they have twenty minutes before swaggering back to the portable office with a grin on his face and half an erection in his pants.

"I miss compulsion" Katherine sighs as they step over the chain and march into the wooded area, beside her Elijah shrugs,

"I was loath to use it lest Tyler Lockwood had initiated some sort of fail-safe or attack with those men. It is what you would have done"

She nods, "True…but community worker?"

"Marcel claimed it as employment for his day job, in lieu of better options…"

She smirks, "Well we may have to use compulsion to get out of here because I have no intention of being in an enclosed space with that man…unless of course you want to steal his clipboard"

Elijah sighs and rubs his forehead, "Katherine I am looking for my kidnapped and tortured brother, now is _not_ the time to be suggesting props for our sex life"

She pouted and quickened her pace to the clearing, "Sorry"

"Besides we have an entire cupboard of stationary at home, coincidentally next to my wardrobe with many of my antiquated outfits and some historic restraints"

Katherine blushed and purred with delight as her lover walked past, running a hand over her backside as he did so.

But the smile drops off her face when the stench hits her. She gags and instinctively turns away, Elijah is green around the lips and quickly holding his arm across his nose and mouth to try and block the smell.

The remains of a fire smoulder in a small clearing, a vat forgotten on the ground, beer cans and scraps of a shirt.

The wolf pack had clearly panicked and abandoned the site long before Katherine had even driven back over Wickery Bridge with Erik and the catatonic Caroline.

Elijah is rolling up his sleeves and edging towards the embers, Katherine opens her mouth to make a joke about s'mores before she steps closer and sees that the blackened pieces in the pit aren't sticks.

They're _bones_.

Elijah straddles the corpse and takes a deep breath before reaching down and hauling it out onto the dirt. Katherine tries to keep her own breathing even as she reaches his side,

"He's already started to heal" her lover tells her with an optimism that can only be felt by an Original, he points to the exposed veins and muscle tissue where Klaus' stomach should be,

"His body is already rebuilding his organs"

Katherine can't even begin to imagine what herbs or spells they needed to create a fire capable of burning the Original Hybrid but there's the more pressing issue of how they're going to cart a corpse through a crowded area without making the national news and causing a state wide manhunt.

In the end, Katherine has to sneak back to the industrial yard, steal a large sheet of metal and take it back to Elijah who will swim across the river with what could generously be described as Klaus' body and meet him on the other side.

She gives the site manager a fake number, tells him to call her and almost thanks god when she spots a kid in school uniform as she drives across the bridge. End of the holiday's means that they have to worry less about being seen. She commits a few traffic violations and drives the car into a park, getting as close to the water as she can. Elijah is already half way across the river and she waits to help him lift the rejuvenating corpse onto dry and into the trunk of the car.

"His spleen is almost fully recovered" her Original vampire tells her enthusiastically as he takes off his shirt and wrings the water onto the ground, Katherine raises an eyebrow, "Uh huh…okay handsome, I stole some clothes from Damon…please change before I get completely _distracted_"

Elijah pulls on Damon's uniform of black shirt and jeans, grimacing at the outfit, "We should get Klaus back to New Orleans as soon as possible"

Katherine laughs and shakes her head, "Are you insane? There is no way we are taking Klaus back to the Quarter looking like _that!_ It'll destabilise his whole reign and give every enemy from here to Alaska the idea to kidnap his loved ones"

Elijah opened the driver's side door for her and walked around to his side, "Just because we haven't seen any werewolves my darling doesn't mean they aren't waiting somewhere in Virginia to plan another attack"

"We can worry about that after Klaus has a voice box, or hands, or even his face back" Katherine appeased, pulling out into traffic.

Elijah fell silent and remained so until they drove past a blood bank, he ran a finger up her arm,

"Turn around Katerina…I think we should avail ourselves of the surplus blood in this town"

* * *

"Good morning lovebirds" Katherine trilled as she strode into Damon Salvatore's bedroom,

"Go to hell Katherine" Stefan mumbled before he even bothered to lift his head from the pillow.

Elena pushed herself up onto her elbows, "Did you guys find Klaus?" she asks politely, Katherine once again resists the urge to check the stench on her clothes and can only be grateful that the car that Klaus' bodily fluids, hair and skin ruined the upholstery of didn't belong to her.

"That's why we're here" Elijah called from behind her, carrying his brother in his arms,

"We're requisitioning your bathroom"

Klaus' appearance has improved exponentially during the few hours Katherine and Elijah spent ransacking every blood bank and hospital from Lynchburg to Mystic Falls. He has most of his vital organs back, including his heart which Katherine took a photo of as evidence when her lover's back was turned. His skin is still working its way from the feet up to the head but his recovery is now becoming evident to the naked eye.

Still when Katherine fetches two of the blood bag transport carriers from the car and comes back into the bedroom Damon is climbing out of the bed, pulling on his jeans and cursing up a blue streak about what she and Elijah planned for his bathtub.

"Bathing Klaus in _blood!_ Why can't we just stick him in the cell and feed it to him normally?"

"He needs to absorb as much blood as possible" Elijah explains, lowering is brother into the porcelain and beginning to drain the bags, as Stefan and Elena got dressed and fetched more from the car,

"So we'll hook him up to some machines and mainline the blood" Damon suggested, looking positively bereft as Katherine splashes the blood on his beloved tub.

"Do you even know if this'll work?" he demands in a final effort.

Elijah looks up from his administrations and speaks with a cold, warning tone;

"I would have thought that you of all people would know the medical benefits of blood baths Damon"

Katherine looks between the two men with interest as Damon noticeably pales and storms from the bathroom angrily. She pushes herself up onto the counter and watches as Elijah nearly fills the tub to the brim, submerges his brother and steps back to stare with an inquisitive eye.

And that's when she hears it.

It's a faint, barely audible noise but if she had to describe it, it sounded like liquid being sucked through a straw. And for the next two hours she watches the level of blood drop lower and lower as it's absorbed by the Hybrid's body. When his face is once again visible she can't see a single shred of proof that he was even so much as singed.

* * *

Klaus awakes with a gasp and opens his eyes looking about frantically to try and make sense of the world in his view. Two large hands reach down to him and lift him upwards, he recognises the flesh, the scent and callouses.

Elijah.

He opens his mouth and closes it again several times before he remembers how to use his voice,

"Where is my son?"

Elijah is busy wrapping him in a towel and sits him on a chair, tilting his head back over the bathroom sink and washing blood from his hair.

Niklaus contemplates killing him if he doesn't receive an answer in the next three seconds.

"_Where_ is my _son_?"

"Erik is safe little brother, Caroline is watching over him and her friends are there also"

_There_ implying that he and his child were in two different locations.

"I want my son" he demands as his brother runs a towel through his hair and reaches for clothes Klaus knows don't belong to him,

"I _want_ my _son_" he repeats firmly, and Elijah cups his chin in his hands,

"When you are dressed and capable of walking on your own two feet we shall take you to him Niklaus…now are you hungry?"

He shakes his head, he feels unbearably full and obediently follows Elijah's instructions waiting for the moment his brother declares him well enough and leads him out of the bathroom and into a hallway.

He realises once they descend the stairs that he is in the Salvatore Boarding House and he sees the two brothers and Elena Gilbert breaking their fast in the parlour before Katerina bounds over with a set of keys in her hand,

"I'm stealing your car Donovan" she calls over her shoulder and the three of them make their way over the front lawn to the car stationed on the curb.

Klaus falls asleep during the drive and is awoken only to be led inside the manor he'd built for his family and long since abandoned. He's led to Kol's downstairs bedroom and rests against the pillows, Elijah draws open the curtains and rolls his eyes when Klaus looks about and holds his arms open expectantly,

"I want my son"

"Your determination is one of your less admirable traits" Elijah scolds, but the sound of bare feet slapping on the marble reaches their ears and moments later Caroline bursts into the room with her golden locks flying and her cheeks flushed.

Breathless and breathtakingly beautiful.

She's cradling Erik against her shoulder and seeing the desperation in Niklaus' eyes hurries across the carpet and leans over, allowing him to reach up and gather his son into his arms.

He holds his child as tightly as he can without hurting him, Erik wakes up and opens one eye to determine his identity before pressing his ear against his chest to hear his slow heartbeat and falling back asleep.

Klaus is so relieved to see that his son his alive that he almost forgets Caroline's presence until she climbs onto the bed and gazes down at him, chewing her lip before reaching over to run her fingers across his jaw, her skin feels soft against his sensitive flesh and her eyes are so bright and full of emotion that he is struck mute.

Elijah clears his throat and quickly leaves the room, catching Katerina around the waist and carrying her out with him.

Neither of the two vampires on the bed notice.

Caroline continues watching him intently and Klaus is completely imprisoned by her blue orbs.

"Did you shave?" she asks curiously, "I don't think I've _ever_ seen you without a five o'clock shadow"

He gives his head the tiniest shake, "The hair will grow back, if I give it time"

She gives a small nod and runs her fingers down his jaw to his shoulder, stroking his bare chest and sending pleasurable tingles through every part of his body.

"Your tattoos are gone" she notes, he shrugs as carefully as he can whilst still holding his son,

"I can always get them redone"

She nods again and finally manages to stop torturing her lower lip with her teeth, she sighs and he expects her to climb off the bed and break their intimate moment before it strays any further into forbidden territory. After a year of this dance, Caroline has pulling away at the last second down to an art form but instead of the usual song and dance about boyfriends, enemies or supernatural disasters she eases herself down until she is lying beside him and then stuns him beyond belief when she rests her head upon his shoulder.

He guesses that Caroline has been soul searching or rethinking her life choices in the hours since they were parted, or perhaps she had been moving towards this path for a while now but Klaus spent the last several hours either brain dead or unconscious so he finds himself struggling to follow her train of thought.

The night's events are a blur to him, he can remember Hayley's decapitation with startling clarity and he knows he shall never forget it, he can remember the fear that plagued him from the moment he realised his son was missing and he can remember the heart breaking sight of his baby son fighting to reach him but the rest…

Tyler's insults, his hatred, the faces of the werewolves, they all blur together and sink into the recesses of his mind.

Why should he focus on vengeance when right now he is lying in bed with his son in his arms and Caroline is beside him with her hair tickling his skin, her breath giving him goose bumps and her eyes and lips wreaking havoc on his imagination.

It also doesn't hurt that from his exact angle he can see down her top to the curves of her luscious breasts pressed together.

As if sensing his father's current serenity and deciding to prove that he is a Mikaelson with his inopportune timing, Erik chooses that moment to wake up and announce his hunger with a piercing cry.

Both Klaus and Caroline wince at the noise, Klaus rubs his head to try and calm his son down but Erik has his determination and thoroughly enjoys seeing how high and loud his voice can go.

"Big brother" Niklaus calls, summoning Elijah and reasserting the elder Original's role as surrogate parent,

"He grows more like you every day" Elijah announces as he carries his wailing nephew from the room to find him food and entertainment. Klaus scowls but Caroline giggles and has yet to remove her head from his shoulder so he's unable to feel any negative emotion for more than a millisecond.

The door closes and once again he and Caroline are locked away in a little world of their own.

Klaus glances down and his eyes catch hers, carefully he lifts the arm between them and wraps it around her shoulders, she shifts closer to him and rests her hand and chin on his chest, she smiles shyly,

"Hi"

He grins, happy to play this game with her, "Hello sweetheart, how are you?"

"Falling in love with you" she announces in her typical straight-forward manner, as always robbing him of speech with her customary brutal honesty.

How does one respond to declarations of love again?

At this very moment Klaus can't seem to remember anything but his own name for some strange reason.

"Are you?" he asks dumbly, bringing his other arm over to embrace her and theoretically hinder her escape attempt when her senses are no longer MIA.

"Yes" she groans and runs a hand through her hair in frustration,

"Or I've already fallen in love with you and I'm only _realising_ it now _or_ I've just stopped denying my feelings _or_ I've just decided to apply for a residency permit in Crazy Town, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since last night and how you looked when you were ready to sacrifice everything for Erik. And I'm not forgetting all the bad things you've done, or the fact that you've irreparably changed Mystic Falls but when I see you with your son and how he's redeeming you…_argh_" she growls in frustration and drops her forehead onto his chest, taking a deep breath before pushing herself up and holding her face above his own,

"All I know is I just really, really want to kiss you right now" she admits before diving in and catching his mouth with her own.

Klaus has to assume that he died and is trapped on the Other Side with angry witches playing mind tricks on him, or his brain is still rewiring itself after its impromptu barbequing in the early hours of the morning. Or perhaps his simply dreaming because surely Caroline Forbes is not kissing him and pressing her amazing body against his own?

His failure to respond causes her to pull back and frown in confusion, her emotion mirroring his own. She frowns and cups his face in her hands,

"Klaus I swear to God if you've picked this exact moment to decide you're over me I will find a white oak stake and whoah…"

Niklaus grabbed her by the waist and rolled them both over so that she was lying underneath him and this time he initiated the kiss. A kiss of passion and life affirmation, celebrating the fact that they both made it to this point in time with the bare minimum of apocalypses and were finally at a point where they could finally admit to their desire for one another. He tangled a hand in her hair and gripped her waist, covering her body with his own.

They broke for air and he tilted her head back to expose her beautiful neck which he nipped and kissed as she moaned and parted her legs, allowing him to sink between them and rub himself against her pliant body. She moaned and gripped his neck and his ass, pushing herself against him and turning her head to capture his mouth again.

He didn't need to seek permission, her lips quickly parted and allowed him access to her. He slipped his tongue in and duelled with hers, feeling himself harden as the scent of her arousal permeates her flushed skin. His hands roamed her body, the curves of her breasts and her thighs which were barely covered by her short dress. Wrapping an arm around her back he pulled himself up onto his knees and she straddled his lap, she broke the kiss with a surprised squeal and he laughed, playfully kissing her collarbone and leaning his face back as she rained kisses on his cheeks, eyelids, forehead and jaw.

His erection was straining against his pants and she rolled her hips, thrusting herself against him wantonly, he moaned and dropped his head to her chest pulling her tighter against him and matching her movements with equal fervour.

Caroline grabbed his t-shirt and he had to release her so that she could pull it over his head, she lost her balance, tumbled laughingly back onto the bed and Klaus was so entranced by the sight of her that he forgot to breathe.

She lay there with her hair fanning her face, her eyes dark with lust, her cheeks flushed with blood, lips smiling and swollen, her chest heaving, her legs spread and her dress up around her lips, exposing her white silk lingerie.

The artist in Niklaus could truly appreciate the masterpiece spread before him.

The vampire yearned to taste her blood.

The werewolf wanted to commence the mating ritual.

And the man just wanted to get her naked and screaming his name as quickly as possible.

But this is the first woman he's been in love with in centuries, so when she giggles he smirks and grabs her knee, the closest part of her to him and kisses it tenderly,

"You are _resplendent_"

She blushes but tries to accept his compliment as he rests her leg on his shoulder and begins kissing his way up her thigh. She wiggles at the sensation and moans the further up he gets, he splays a hand across her stomach to keep her anchored to the bed. His kisses continue until he reaches the silk barrier between them, one which is already ruined with evidence of her arousal. He presses his lips hard against it, causing her to cry his name and arch her back, he grins and with his free hand he hooks his fingers around her underwear and draws back onto his knees, pulling away from her and easing the lingerie down her long legs.

"I'm getting those back later" she warns as he tosses them at the end of the bed, he laughs,

"Sure you are my love, and pigs will be flying through the skies this afternoon"

She scowls playfully and grabs his arms, pulling herself up so that she can unbutton his jeans and teasingly begins lifting up her dress before he captures her hands with his own, bringing them to his lips and kissing them,

"Caroline sweetheart…" he looked into her bright blue eyes and felt his heart clench with agony. She was going to leave him, everyone _always_ left him.

"I want to make sure that I have your…consent I suppose…before we go any further" he swallows back the lump in his throat,

"If you aren't one hundred percent sure I want to…_ah_"

Caroline tackled him onto his back and kissed him passionately, when she pulls back he can see water in her eyes,

"Nobody has ever actually _asked_ me for my consent before" she confesses tearfully and before Klaus can write himself a mental note to explore that part of her past later she kisses him again, running her hands over his chest, down to his stomach and pulls his jeans down enough to gain access to his erection. He groans as she wraps her hand around him and buries her face in his neck while she strokes him, she bites down on his flesh with blunt teeth and he kicks the jeans from his legs and rolls them back over before he loses complete control.

He traps Caroline beneath his knees and reaches down to finally rid her of that lovely but infernally irritating dress.

In doing so he discovers that she only had one piece of lingerie on and once again loses the power of speech or thought.

"You keep staring at me like I'm the Holy Grail or the Rosetta Stone" Caroline points out as Klaus settles his naked body in between her own,

"Actually I prefer you to an ancient pile of wood or rock" he tells her candidly before bending his head to her breasts and taking her nipple into his mouth.

She moans and runs her fingers through his hair while his hand travels back down to cup her and slide a finger between her wet folds before slipping it inside her. She whimpers and grips his shoulder as he slips a second finger inside her and searches for her g-spot, finding it, he presses a thumb to her clit and sets a rhythm that he adjusts as she cries his name and arches her back, using her vocal responses he has her falling apart in his arms, climaxing long and hard.

He moves away from her breasts and trails kisses downwards until he reaches her vagina. After blowing softly against her sensitive skin, he runs his tongue along her folds and begins lapping up her arousal, drinking from her as if it was this and not blood he needed to survive. She's still coming down from her last orgasm and his kisses and licks take her to the edge and the tiniest scrape of his teeth send her over, moaning his name and trembling with the pleasure.

He laps up the fresh wave of arousal and crawls up her body, laying half atop her and wrapping an arm about her chest, she turns her face so that their cheeks are pressed together and her carefree smile is luminous in the bright, sunlit room.

"You're selfless" she gasps as she quivers with the aftershocks of her orgasm, he grins and nibbles on her earlobe,

"The one aspect of my life where I can be accused of that virtue"

"You realise that we're doing this the wrong way right?" she points out, waving her arm lazily at the head of the bed and where their feet were just touching the pillows. He smiles and gazes into her eyes, "It feels right for us though"

She nods clearly understanding how their relationship has always been topsy-turvy for them, she snuggled closer to him so she was no longer in as much risk of falling of the bed and he rolled onto his back, pulling her astride him and helping her position herself right over his penis. They kissed again, unable to bear the loss of contact for long before he reached up to finally claim her.

"_Wait!_" Caroline gripped his shoulders and pushed him backwards, away from her,

"What is it?" he asked worriedly, stroking the hair back from her forehead, "What's wrong?"

"Do we need a condom?" she asked and he frowned, not immediately recognising the word "A what?"

"Oh for the love of…plastic glove that prevents you from getting me pregnant…do we _need_ one?"

They were made from plastic now? The one time he'd worn one out of curiosity they'd been made from animal intestine and treated with lye.

Were they still sold at barber shops? He never entered one, Elijah always cut his hair.

"God I hope not" he lunged forward but she pushed him back again,

"Klaus will having sex with you tonight get me pregnant?"

"Caroline you're a vampire…you cannot get pregnant and if by some miracle I manage to impregnate a _second_ woman in _less_ than two years you have my permission to castrate me"

"It'll be my mother you'll have to worry about" she warns him but still takes his penis with one hand and guides him inside her.

She's soaked with arousal but she's still so tight Klaus has to ease his way in, his penis feels huge inside her and he holds her gently as she struggles to accommodate him, he groans at the sensation and remains still until she can accept all of him.

"Are you alright my love?" he asks quietly, she nods and experimentally rolls her hips, they both gasp as tension and pleasure build and quickly set about finding a rhythm, Klaus thrusts in and out of Caroline and when her next climax makes her movements jerky, he flips her onto her back and wraps her legs around his hips, setting a harder pace that sends her over the edge but doesn't allow her time to recover before her next orgasm begins.

"Oh my God Klaus…Oh God…yes…please…please…please" Caroline sobs with ecstasy, clutching his shoulders, running her hands down his back and whimpering as he finds her most sensitive areas,

"You don't have to beg sweetheart" he swears, tilting her head back so that she's looking into his eyes as the next orgasm hits, "Not with me"

He can feel every inch of his penis he's so close to finishing, he's slamming into her harder and faster, chasing his own release and he finally surrenders to the alpha within him, he kisses Caroline before rolling her over onto her stomach and lifting her rump into the air, she reaches blindly behind her and catches his hand, lacing their fingers together and gripping tightly as he slams into her. He's so close and right before he comes he pulls Caroline up, pressing her back to his chest and sinks his fangs into her neck, exploding with his release and her blood flooding into his mouth.

It's a good while before the world starts spinning again. But when Klaus remembers that limbs move he loosens his grip on his mate and she falls onto the bed, crawling up onto the pillows and lying down with a satisfied sigh. He grins and licks his lips, catching a stray drop of blood easing down his chin before his brain cells fire up,

"Bloody hell"

She giggles, "I'll say"

She wearily lifts her head as he bites into his wrist and hurries to her side, "Forgive me Caroline, I forgot…"

"That your bite is fatal?" she points out, running her tongue over the wound lazily, not nearly as worried as he was.

"I'm fine Klaus" she assures him, "I figured there'd be biting involved but I also figured it'd be followed by blood sharing…namely yours"

He strokes her face lovingly, "I didn't scare you then?"

She shrugs, "Well I was worried at one point that my heart would give out from the orgasms but aside from that…come here" she tugs him down so that he's lying beside her, she rolls over so that they're spooning, "Hold me for a good long while"

"Always" he promises.

* * *

A/N- I had trouble with the torture scenes and the sex scenes- also with getting Klaus from Point A to Point B, but I finally fulfilled my promise of Klaroline. So there is that.


End file.
